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Prospectively assessed menstrual cycle characteristics in female wafer‐fabrication and nonfabrication semiconductor employees
Author(s) -
Gold Ellen B.,
Eskenazi Brenda,
Hammond S. Katharine,
Lasley Bill L.,
Samuels Steven J.,
O'Neill Rasor Marianne,
Hines Cynthia J.,
Overstreet James W.,
Schenker Marc B.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700280613
Subject(s) - medicine , menstrual cycle , prospective cohort study , gynecology , zoology , demography , hormone , biology , sociology
Women aged 18–44 years in silicon‐wafer fabrication‐room (fab) jobs and frequency‐MAtched women in nonfab jobs were screened for a prospective study of reproductive health (n = 2,639). Among the 739 (28%) eligible women, 481 (65%) completed a baseline interview; 402 completed at least one menstrual cycle of follow‐up with daily diaries and urinary assays to exclude conceptive cycles. Adjusted mean cycle lengths (MCL) did not differ between fab and nonfab women (p = 0.97). Women working in thin film and ion implantation (TFII) had the highest adjusted MCL (34.8 ± 1.7 days) compared with nonfab workers (32.5 ± 1.4 days, p = 0.07). Among women working exclusively in one group, TFII women had significantly higher MCL (36.1 ± 2.04 days) than nonfab women (32.0 ± 1.38 days, p = 0.017). TFII women were also more likely to have all cycles >35 days (adjusted relative risk [RR] = 2.45; 95% CI = 0.85‐6.06). Variability was assessed by logarithmic transformation of the mean standard deviation (MLSD) in cycle length per woman and adjusted for age and ethnicity (4.5 days for fab vs. 4.0 days for nonfab, p = 0.16). Women working exclusively in TFII or photolithography (PHOTO) had significantly higher adjusted MLSD in cycle length (6.68 ± 1.28 and 5.72 ± 1.24 days, respectively) than women in nonfab (4.1 ± 1.16 days, p = 0.013 and 0.019, respectively). Fab and nonfab women did not differ significantly in mean days of bleeding or risk of having cycles >35 or <24 days. However, elevated risks of having cycles <24 days were seen in supervisor engineers (adjusted RR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.19‐3.63) and PHOTO women (adjusted RR = 1.83, 95% CI = 0.94‐2.88).