The role of neighborhood poverty and malnutrition on female reproductive outcomes

Abstract

Stressful environments affect female reproduction in a variety of pathways. The objectives of this dissertation are to understand the role of neighborhood poverty and malnutrition on female reproductive aging and fecundity, respectively. Another goal of the dissertation is to examine the stability of cortisol in frozen archived urine samples. The first study of this dissertation explored the relationship between neighborhood poverty and ovarian aging on two ovarian biomarkers, anti-Müllerian hormone, and antral follicle count in a U.S. population. The results showed the potential detrimental effects of neighborhood poverty on the ovarian reserve. The second study examined the association between famine and the probability of fertile conception in a Bangladeshi population, showing a decline in sterility with no change to fecundability immediately after the famine. The third study demonstrated the stability of cortisol (a proxy for stress) in 30-year-old frozen urine samples collected from Bangladesh. Overall, the results of the dissertation contribute to showing that secondary data and archived biological samples can be extremely useful in addressing basic questions in human biology and potentially help uncover the role of environmental stresses on reproductive health.