Burr Ridge, Illinois, March 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Online or smartphone fertility tracking apps are “satisfying both clinicians and patients” for timelier virtual care. Patients monitoring their menstrual cycles with cycle tracking apps, along with daily tracking of urinary sex hormones or cervical secretions, contribute to quicker diagnoses and treatments. Innovative e-technology can now respond to concerning conditions around “irregular cycles, infertility, hormonal disturbances and natural birth methods” with aid from virtual apps’ data. The findings are published in the open-access journal The Annals of Family Medicine.
Dr. Rene Leiva and Dr. Lucas DiRienzo conducted clinical research on 104 patients, tracking their menstrual cycles according to fertility and menstrual tracking apps, like the Premom Ovulation Tracker app. For the purposes of ovulation prediction, the study included daily tracking of urinary sex hormones, cervical secretions, or a combination of both. 82% of patients were tracking due to infertility/health reasons, while 18% used this method for family planning.
Clinicians received patients’ cycle data electronically from Premom, allowing for medical interpretation and opportunities for earlier prevention of emerging health issues. Ovulation confirmation was confirmed using lab-based serum progesterone.
Findings are very satisfying for both patients and clinicians to remotely monitor the menstrual cycle and for patients to be prepared for doctors’ visits in person or virtually. The doctors stated in the article, “We can supervise for normalization of irregular cycles in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in adolescents, resolve unusual uterine bleeding, and diagnose fertile window or anovulation in subfertility.” Daily at-home hormonal testing such as ovulation predictor kits are making it possible for early intervention to combat common fertility conditions.
The pandemic has expedited the need of virtual technology. Healthcare providers are beginning to value virtual care to more regularly monitor their patients’ monthly cycles. Mobile tracking apps are beginning to advance women’s reproductive health for all.
To read the full clinical study, visit https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2653
About Annals of Family Medicine
Annals of Family Medicine is an open access, peer-reviewed research journal serving the needs of scientists, practitioners, policymakers, and the patients and communities they serve. It is the top-ranked primary care research journal in the world and uses evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Annals seeks to identify and address important questions in health and the provision of patient-centered, prioritized, high-quality health care. https://www.annfammed.org/.
About Premom
Premom, based in Burr Ridge, Illinois, is dedicated to helping women get pregnant sooner and naturally. As a unique and innovative ovulation tracker app, Premom is a simple, effective and affordable solution for all trying to conceive women. As part of the easy@Home family, the largest volume seller of ovulation tests in North America, Premom has helped over 100,000 women get pregnant successfully with its fertility and health tracking technology and expertise. For more information, visit www.premom.com.
References:
- Research article:
Leiva R, DiRienzo L. Combination of Home-Based Hormonal and Mobile Technology for Virtual Monitoring of Menstrual Cycles. Ann Fam Med. 2021 19(2), 180. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2653 - Supplemental materials: https://www.AnnFamMed.org/content/19/2/180/suppl/DC1/