Observational studyFertility and sterility2015
Sexual activity modulates shifts in TH1/TH2 cytokine profile across the menstrual cycle: an observational study.
Observational study in Fertility and sterility, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of progesterone on the immune system in women: a systematic literature review.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2024Pooled it
- The role of CD8+ T cells in endometriosis: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Pooled it
- The HIV Reservoir and Immune Landscape Across the Life Course of Women: Implications for Cure Strategies.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2026Review
- Evaluation of Th1-Th2 balance in patients with recurrent implantation failure; a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC immunology · 2026Review
- HIV-Exposed Seronegative Female Sex Workers Show Different Cellular Immune Profiles Across the Menstrual Cycle.American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2025Article
- Thymus Degeneration in Women and the Influence of Female Sexual Hormones on Thymic Epithelial Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Global, regional, and national burden of anxiety disorders during the perimenopause (1990-2021) and projections to 2035.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Neuromedin B identified as a therapeutic target for atopic dermatitis: evidence from Mendelian randomization and PCR validation.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Menopausal hormone therapy and risk of sarcoidosis: a population-based nested case-control study in Sweden.European journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Intrinsic Effects of Exposome in Atopic Dermatitis: Genomics, Epigenomics and Regulatory Layers.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Flare management in atopic dermatitis: from definition to treatment.Therapeutic advances in chronic disease · 2022Review
- Inflammation Predicts Sexual Arousability in Healthy Women.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2021Article
- The Roles of Sex Hormones in the Course of Atopic Dermatitis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- Leveraging Prior Knowledge of Endocrine Immune Regulation in the Therapeutically Relevant Phenotyping of Women With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Clinical therapeutics · 2019Article
- Article
- Progesterone-Related Immune Modulation of Pregnancy and Labor.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019Review
- Physiological predictors of leptin vary during menses and ovulation in healthy women.Reproductive biology · 2018Article
- Salivary Afternoon Cortisol and Relationship Status in Healthy Women with Regular Menstrual Cycles.Women's reproductive health (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2018Article
- Progesterone Modulation of Pregnancy-Related Immune Responses.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Article
- Partnered sexual activity moderates menstrual cycle-related changes in inflammation markers in healthy women: an exploratory observational study.Fertility and sterility · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate if sexual activity moderated menstrual cycle-related shifts in cytokines associated with T-helper type 1 (TH1) cells (e.g., interferon [IFN] γ) and T-helper type 2 (TH2) cells (e.g., interleukin [IL] 4). Immune activity shifts across the menstrual cycle, with higher follicular-phase TH1-cell activity but higher luteal-phase TH2-cell activity. Little is known about how social behaviors alter TH1-TH2 ratios, despite evidence that psychosocial factors can influence immunity. Of particular interest is how sexual activity influences immune responses that may support conception, such as the TH1-TH2 balance.
designParticipants provided saliva samples at four time points (menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases), which were assayed by means of ELISA.
settingAcademic laboratory. PARTICIPANT(S): Thirty healthy premenopausal women (16 sexually abstinent, 14 sexually active) not taking hormonal or immunoactive medications. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Salivary E2, P, IFN-γ, and IL-4. RESULT(S): Sexually active, but not abstinent, women were significantly more likely to express TH2-like cytokine ratios (IFN-γ < IL-4) in the luteal phase than in other phases. Similarly, sexually active women had significantly higher P, and higher P-E2 ratios, in the luteal phase than did abstinent women. The P-E2 ratio mediated menstrual variations in cytokine ratios in sexually active women. CONCLUSION(S): These results support the hypothesis that shifts in immune response across the menstrual cycle may reflect tradeoffs between reproduction and immunity. These findings point to the need for further research on the interaction between sexual behavior, the menstrual cycle, and immune response.
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Registered trials
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.