Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26111445›Full record

ArticlePaediatric and perinatal epidemiology2015

Design and Conduct of an Internet-Based Preconception Cohort Study in North America: Pregnancy Study Online.

Lauren A Wise, Kenneth J Rothman, Ellen M Mikkelsen, Joseph B Stanford, Amelia K Wesselink, Craig McKinnon, Siobhan M Gruschow, Casie E Horgan, Aleta S Wiley, Kristen A Hahn and 2 more

Abstract readComparative StudyEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 154 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
154citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

154 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
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  5. Article
  6. A Preconception Cohort Study of Nicotine Vaping and Incidence of Spontaneous Abortion.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026
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  13. Using wearable devices to measure personal heat exposure in a preconception cohort.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026
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  19. Racialized economic segregation in relation to fecundability in a preconception cohort study.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026
    Article
  20. Cannabis Use Transitions During Early Pregnancy.Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.) · 2026
    Article

94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Lauren A WiseDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Kenneth J RothmanDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Ellen M MikkelsenDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Joseph B StanfordDepartment of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Amelia K WesselinkDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Craig McKinnonDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Siobhan M GruschowDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Casie E HorganDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Aleta S WileyDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Kristen A HahnDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Henrik Toft SørensenDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Elizabeth E HatchDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.

Funding

BURPPE:BU Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology Training ProgramT32HD052458 · NICHD · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI WERLER, MARTHA M. · 2007 to 2016
$2.0M
Feasibility of an internet-based study of time-to-pregnancy in the United StatesR21HD072326 · NICHD · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI WISE, LAUREN A · 2013 to 2014
$337k
NICHD NIH HHS R21 HD072326NICHD NIH HHS R21HD072326NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD052458
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe launched the Boston University Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) to assess the feasibility of carrying out an Internet-based preconception cohort study in the US and Canada.

methodsWe recruited female participants age 21-45 and their male partners through Internet advertisements, word of mouth, and flyers. Female participants were randomised with 50% probability to receive a subscription to FertilityFriend.com (FF), a web-based programme that collects real-time data on menstrual characteristics. We compared recruitment methods within PRESTO, assessed the cost-efficiency of PRESTO relative to its Danish counterpart (Snart-Gravid), and validated retrospectively reported date of last menstrual period (LMP) against the FF data.

resultsAfter 99 weeks of recruitment (2013-15), 2421 women enrolled; 1384 (57%) invited their male partners to participate, of whom 693 (50%) enrolled. Baseline characteristics were balanced across randomisation groups. Cohort retention was similar among those randomised vs. not randomised to FF (84% vs. 81%). At study enrollment, 56%, 22%, and 22% couples had been trying to conceive for < 3, 3-5, and ≥ 6 months, respectively. The cost per subject enrolled was $146 (2013 US$), which was similar to our companion Danish study and half that of a traditional cohort study. Among FF users who conceived, > 97% reported their LMP on the PRESTO questionnaire within 1 day of the LMP recorded via FF.

conclusionsUse of the Internet as a method of recruitment and follow-up in a North American preconception cohort study was feasible and cost-effective.

Indexed as

FertilizationAdultContraception BehaviorCost-Benefit AnalysisDenmarkFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansInternetMaleNorth AmericaPatient Education as TopicPatient SelectionPreconception CarePregnancyProspective StudiesfertilityInternetmethodsmobile appsprospective studies

Identifiers

PMID26111445
PMCPMC4662659

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.