Changes of salivary estrogen levels for detecting the fertile period

V Günther; I Bauer; J Hedderich; L Mettler; M Schubert; M T van Mackelenbergh; N Maass; I Alkatout

doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2015.08.007

Changes of salivary estrogen levels for detecting the fertile period

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2015 Nov:194:38-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2015.08.007. Epub 2015 Aug 17.

Authors

V Günther¹, I Bauer², J Hedderich³, L Mettler², M Schubert², M T van Mackelenbergh², N Maass², I Alkatout²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller Str. 3, House 24, 24105 Kiel, Germany. Electronic address: Vguenther@gmx.de.
² Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller Str. 3, House 24, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
³ Institute for Medical Informatics and Statistics, University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Brunswiker Str. 10, 24105 Kiel, Germany.

PMID: 26319654
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejogrb.2015.08.007

Abstract

Objectives: Is the saliva test, Geratherm ovu control, as accurate as the established urinary luteinizing hormone (LH) test for detecting ovulation and the following the fertile period?

Study design: The voluntary participants were 74 healthy women with regular menstrual cycles and not using any hormonal contraceptives. The women used Geratherm ovu control, a small plastic hand-held microscope, for detecting the fertile period. A drop of saliva from sublingual was put onto the lens of the microscope. Three results were possible: non-fertile (dot pattern), transitional and fertile (ferning pattern). The participants performed the saliva test from the 5th till the 22nd day of the menstrual cycle and noted the respective result in a table. In addition to Geratherm ovu control, the EXACTO test for determining urinary LH concentration and the time of peak fertility was also performed.

Results: Positive LH shows a sharp increase beginning on the 10th cycle day with a maximum on the 17th cycle day. The curve for positive saliva and questionable positive saliva (one curve) is almost parallel with the curve for positive LH, reaching a maximum on the 16th cycle day. There is a high level of conformity for the same test results from the 5th (100%) till the 14th (84%) cycle day and from the 18th (80%) till the 22nd (96%) cycle day which corresponds to the pre- and post-ovulatory period.

Conclusion: The saliva and the LH test both detect the fertile window of a menstrual cycle. Caused by the different hormones (estrogen for the saliva and LH for the LH test) leading to the respective positive test results, saliva turns positive 24h before LH. Consequently, the saliva test can be used as an ovulation test and help women maximize their chances of conceiving. There is also a high congruence between LH and saliva in the pre- and post-ovulatory period, indicating that the saliva test can also be used for contraception purposes.

Keywords: Estrogen; Fertility awareness-based methods; LH; Ovulation; Saliva.

MeSH terms

Adult
Estrogens / analysis*
Female
Fertility*
Humans
Luteinizing Hormone / urine
Menstrual Cycle*
Saliva / chemistry*

Substances

Estrogens
Luteinizing Hormone