The DOI matches its Crossref record; 71 of the 71 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
How to study the menstrual cycle: Practical tools and recommendations
Open accessAbstract
Despite decades of research on the physiological and psychological effects of the menstrual cycle, studies have not sufficiently adopted consistent methods for operationalizing the menstrual cycle. This has resulted in substantial confusion in the literature and limited possibilities to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses. In order to facilitate more rapid accumulation of knowledge on cycle effects, the present paper offers a set of integrative guidelines and standardized tools for studying the menstrual cycle as an independent variable. We begin with (1) an overview of the menstrual cycle and (2) premenstrual disorders, followed by (3) recommendations and tools regarding data collection in cycle studies. These recommendations address selecting the appropriate study design and sampling strategy, managing demand characteristics, identifying a sample of naturally-cycling individuals, and measuring menstrual bleeding dates, ovarian hormones, and ovulation. We proceed with suggestions for (4) data preparation and coding of cycle day and phases, as well as (5) data visualization, statistical modeling, and interpretation of menstrual cycle associations. We also provide (6) recommendations for using menses start day and ovulation testing to schedule visits in laboratory studies and end with a (7) comprehensive summary and conclusion. Regardless of whether the influence of the menstrual cycle is of central interest in a study or should be controlled to accurately assess the effects of another variable, the use of these recommendations and tools will help make study results more meaningful and replicable.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM)
(2008) · Encyclopedia of Counseling · doi:10.4135/9781412963978.n182 · Cited by 10,830
Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence
Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003) · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195152968.001.0001 · Cited by 10,647
Centering predictor variables in cross-sectional multilevel models: A new look at an old issue.
Enders, C. K., & Tofighi, D. (2007) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/1082-989x.12.2.121 · Cited by 4,462
Coleman, E., Bockting, W., Botzer, M., Cohen-Kettenis, P., DeCuypere, G., Feldman, J., Fraser, L., Green, J., Knudson, G., Meyer, W. J., et al. (2012) · International Journal of Transgenderism · doi:10.1080/15532739.2011.700873 · Cited by 3,143
Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations
Kruse, J. A. (1990) · JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association · doi:10.1001/jama.1990.03450210108045 · Cited by 2,029
Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence
Anderson, C. J. (2005) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.1198/jasa.2005.s7 · Cited by 1,917
Harlow, S. D., Gass, M., Hall, J. E., Lobo, R., Maki, P., Rebar, R. W., Sherman, S., Sluss, P. M., & de Villiers, T. J. (2012) · Menopause · doi:10.1097/gme.0b013e31824d8f40 · Cited by 1,705
Battle, D. E. (2013) · CoDAS · doi:10.1590/s2317-17822013000200017 · Cited by 1,569
Harlow, S. D., Gass, M., Hall, J. E., Lobo, R., Maki, P., Rebar, R. W., Sherman, S., Sluss, P. M., de Villiers, T. J., & for the STRAW + 10 Collaborative Group (2012) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jc.2011-3362 · Cited by 1,325
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences
(2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8 · Cited by 985
Cited by
Advances in human oxytocin measurement: challenges and proposed solutions
Tabak, B. A., Leng, G., Szeto, A., Parker, K. J., Verbalis, J. G., Ziegler, T. E., Lee, M. R., Neumann, I. D., & Mendez, A. J. (2023) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-022-01719-z · Cited by 170
Psychiatric Symptoms Across the Menstrual Cycle in Adult Women: A Comprehensive Review
Handy, A. B., Greenfield, S. F., Yonkers, K. A., & Payne, L. A. (2022) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/hrp.0000000000000329 · Cited by 153
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the menstrual cycle: Theory and evidence
Eng, A. G., Nirjar, U., Elkins, A. R., Sizemore, Y. J., Monticello, K. N., Petersen, M. K., Miller, S. A., Barone, J., Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., & Martel, M. M. (2024) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105466 · Cited by 42
Self-citationHenderson, A., Gardani, M., Dyker, G., & Matthews, L. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.11.033 · Cited by 12
PARTEN, A. L., SMITH-RYAN, A. E., SANCHEZ, K. M., HEARD, S. A., O’NEAL, E. K., MCALLISTER, M. J., LYONS, T. S., & WALDMAN, H. S. (2026) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000004022
Metadata
- Authors
- Schmalenberger, K. M., Tauseef, H. A., Barone, J. C., Owens, S. A., Lieberman, L., Jarczok, M. N., Girdler, S. S., Kiesner, J., Ditzen, B., & Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 123
- Pages
- 104895
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3093216604
- Cited by
- 404
- References
- 71
- FWCI
- 22.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: How to study the menstrual cycle: Practical tools and recommendations. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104895
- The paper
- Schmalenberger, K. M., Tauseef, H. A., Barone, J. C., Owens, S. A., Lieberman, L., Jarczok, M. N., Girdler, S. S., Kiesner, J., Ditzen, B., & Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A. (2021). How to study the menstrual cycle: Practical tools and recommendations. Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104895
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
