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. 2021 Mar;8(1):9-19.
doi: 10.1007/s40471-020-00260-3. Epub 2021 Feb 20.

Menstrual Cycle Tracking Applications and the Potential for Epidemiological Research: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Joelle S Schantz  1 , Claudia S P Fernandez  1 , Z Jukic Anne Marie  2
Affiliations

Menstrual Cycle Tracking Applications and the Potential for Epidemiological Research: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Joelle S Schantz et al. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose of review: We reviewed published studies on menstrual cycle tracking applications (MCTAs) in order to describe the potential of MCTAs for epidemiologic research.

Recent findings: A search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for MCTA literature yielded 150 articles. After exclusions, there were 49 articles that addressed the primary interest areas: 1) characteristics of MCTA users in research, 2) reasons women use or continue using MCTAs, 3) accuracy of identifying ovulation and utility at promoting and preventing pregnancy, and 4) quality assessments of MCTAs across several domains.

Summary: MCTAs are an important tool for the advancement of epidemiologic research on menstruation. MCTA studies should describe the characteristics of their user-base and missing data patterns. Describing the motivation for using MCTAs throughout a user's life and validating the data collected should be prioritized in future research.

Keywords: data collection; epidemiologic research design; fertility; menstrual cycle; mobile application; ovulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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