1. A comparison of blood spot vs. plasma analysis of gonadotropin and ovarian steroid hormone levels in reproductive-age women
- Author
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Edelman, Alison, Stouffer, Richard, Zava, David T., and Jensen, Jeffrey T.
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WOMEN'S health , *GONADOTROPIN , *STEROID hormones , *MENSTRUAL cycle , *COMPARATIVE studies , *SEX hormones , *HUMAN reproduction , *RESEARCH methodology , *MEDICAL cooperation , *OVARIES , *PHLEBOTOMY , *RESEARCH , *RESEARCH funding , *EVALUATION research , *CROSS-sectional method - Abstract
Objective: To compare LH, FSH, P, and E(2) levels obtained from blood spot vs. plasma (single-visit study) and to determine whether blood spots can document circulating hormone levels during ovulatory cycles (menstrual-cycle study).Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Academic center.Patient(s): Women 18-35 years of age with regular menstrual cycles and no recent use of hormonal contraception.Intervention(s): Women contributed both a blood spot sample from a finger-stick and a plasma sample through venipuncture on a random day within their menstrual cycle (n = 100, single study visit). Five additional women were followed for an entire menstrual cycle with biweekly venipuncture and daily self-collected blood spot sampling. Samples were analyzed for FSH, LH, P, and E(2).Main Outcome Measure(s): Correlation between blood spot and plasma levels.Result(s): Significant positive correlations were found between the blood spot and plasma samples in the single-visit study (r(2): FSH, 0.91; LH, 0.93; P, 0.83; and E(2,) 0.70). Two of the 5 menstrual-cycle study women had ovulatory cycles based on P levels (>3 ng/mL) and an LH surge. Daily blood spot sampling was better able to document hormonal changes than biweekly venipuncture.Conclusion(s): Blood spot monitoring of FSH, LH, P, and, to a lesser extent, E(2), appears to be as valid as traditional plasma assays for clinical research and care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2007
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