{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T04:46:51Z","timestamp":1785732411281,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785715200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) are leading causes of neonatal mortality and long-term morbidity. In China, the high prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and thyroid dysfunction (TF) creates a metabolically complex obstetric environment in which identifying risk markers that add value beyond existing screening is a priority. Menstrual cycle length is routinely available, yet whether it provides risk information non-redundant with GDM and TF has not been rigorously examined.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Retrospective cohort of 17,792 consecutive singleton deliveries at a tertiary centre in Wuhan, China (2020\u20132024). Cycle length was recorded at intrapartum admission: short (&amp;lt;25d), normal (25\u201335d; reference), or long (&amp;gt;35d). Primary outcomes were PTB (&amp;lt;37 weeks) and LBW (&amp;lt;2,500 g). Three nested logistic models were fitted; stability across models was used to assess whether GDM and TF acted as strong confounders. Restricted cubic splines, additive interaction (RERI), population-attributable fractions (PAF), and five sensitivity analyses were used, with Benjamini\u2013Hochberg FDR correction.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Long cycle (&amp;gt;35d; n = 1,810, 10.2%) was independently associated with PTB (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12\u20131.64; FDR\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      =\u00a00.006) and LBW (aOR 1.46, 1.18\u20131.78; FDR\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.002) after full adjustment for GDM and TF. Estimates were stable across progressive adjustment (PTB 1.34\u21921.36; LBW 1.42\u21921.46), indicating GDM and TF were not strong confounders. RERI for long cycle \u00d7 GDM\/TF crossed zero for both outcomes, excluding meaningful synergism. RCS showed a monotonic increase from ~30 days. PAF: PTB 3.1% (0.9\u20135.4%); LBW 3.9% (1.2\u20136.4%). The birth weight reduction (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      = \u221233 g) attenuated at term (\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      = \u22128 g, NS), but long cycle was associated with higher odds of small-for-gestational-age (aOR 1.39, 1.11\u20131.73), including at term, indicating both earlier delivery and impaired fetal growth. Period length showed no association.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Long menstrual cycle length was associated with PTB and LBW, not materially attenuated by adjustment for GDM and TF, consistent with prognostic information non-redundant with metabolic screening; however, stable estimates cannot exclude residual confounding or establish an independent pathway. Because cycle length reflects the pre-pregnancy ovulatory interval, any clinical value would lie in collecting menstrual history before conception or in early pregnancy. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require prospective validation in community-based cohorts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1888560","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,3]],"date-time":"2026-08-03T04:28:13Z","timestamp":1785731293000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Menstrual cycle length identifies perinatal risk information beyond routine metabolic antenatal screening: a retrospective cohort study of 17,792 deliveries"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Qian","family":"Xia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuhan Children\u2019s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology","place":["Wuhan, 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Science & Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuhan Children\u2019s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yun","family":"Xiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuhan Children\u2019s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Changzhen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Wuhan Children\u2019s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical 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