Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?

Background: Period tracking applications (apps) allow women to track their menstrual cycles and receive a prediction for their period dates. The majority of apps also provide predictions of ovulation day and the fertile window. Research indicates apps are basing predictions on assuming women undergo...

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Main Authors: Lauren Worsfold, Lorrae Marriott, Sarah Johnson, Joyce C Harper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-10-01
Series:Women's Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/17455065211049905
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spelling doaj-0563b418834e4303aa94e4550e410ba12021-10-09T22:03:21ZengSAGE PublishingWomen's Health1745-50652021-10-011710.1177/17455065211049905Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?Lauren Worsfold0Lorrae Marriott1Sarah Johnson2Joyce C Harper3Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, London, UKStatistics and Data Management, SPD Development Company Ltd, Bedford, UKClinical and Regulatory Affairs, SPD Development Company Ltd, Bedford, UKInstitute for Women’s Health, University College London, London, UKBackground: Period tracking applications (apps) allow women to track their menstrual cycles and receive a prediction for their period dates. The majority of apps also provide predictions of ovulation day and the fertile window. Research indicates apps are basing predictions on assuming women undergo a textbook 28-day cycle with ovulation occurring on day 14 and a fertile window between days 10 and 16. Objective: To determine how the information period tracker apps give women on their period dates, ovulation day and fertile window compares to expected results from big data. Methods: Five women’s profiles for 6 menstrual cycles were created and entered into 10 apps. Cycle length and ovulation day for the sixth cycle were Woman 1—Constant 28 day cycle length, ovulation day 16; Woman 2—Average 23 day cycle length, ovulation day 13; Woman 3—Average 28 day cycle length, ovulation day 17; Woman 4—Average 33 day cycle length, ovulation day 20; and Woman 5—Irregular, average 31 day cycle length, ovulation day 14. Results: The 10 period tracker apps examined gave conflicting information on period dates, ovulation day and the fertile window. For cycle length, the apps all predicted woman 1’s cycles correctly but for women 2–5, the apps predicted 0 to 8 days shorter or longer than expected. For day of ovulation, for women 1–4, of the 36 predictions, 3 (8%) were exactly correct, 9 predicted 1 day too early (25%) and 67% of predictions were 2–9 days early. For woman 5, most of the apps predicted a later day of ovulation. Conclusion: Period tracker apps should ensure they only give women accurate information, especially for the day of ovulation and the fertile window which can only be predicted if using a marker of ovulation, such as basal body temperature, ovulation sticks or cervical mucus.https://doi.org/10.1177/17455065211049905
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Lauren Worsfold
Lorrae Marriott
Sarah Johnson
Joyce C Harper
spellingShingle Lauren Worsfold
Lorrae Marriott
Sarah Johnson
Joyce C Harper
Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
Women's Health
author_facet Lauren Worsfold
Lorrae Marriott
Sarah Johnson
Joyce C Harper
author_sort Lauren Worsfold
title Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
title_short Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
title_full Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
title_fullStr Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
title_full_unstemmed Period tracker applications: What menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
title_sort period tracker applications: what menstrual cycle information are they giving women?
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Women's Health
issn 1745-5065
publishDate 2021-10-01
description Background: Period tracking applications (apps) allow women to track their menstrual cycles and receive a prediction for their period dates. The majority of apps also provide predictions of ovulation day and the fertile window. Research indicates apps are basing predictions on assuming women undergo a textbook 28-day cycle with ovulation occurring on day 14 and a fertile window between days 10 and 16. Objective: To determine how the information period tracker apps give women on their period dates, ovulation day and fertile window compares to expected results from big data. Methods: Five women’s profiles for 6 menstrual cycles were created and entered into 10 apps. Cycle length and ovulation day for the sixth cycle were Woman 1—Constant 28 day cycle length, ovulation day 16; Woman 2—Average 23 day cycle length, ovulation day 13; Woman 3—Average 28 day cycle length, ovulation day 17; Woman 4—Average 33 day cycle length, ovulation day 20; and Woman 5—Irregular, average 31 day cycle length, ovulation day 14. Results: The 10 period tracker apps examined gave conflicting information on period dates, ovulation day and the fertile window. For cycle length, the apps all predicted woman 1’s cycles correctly but for women 2–5, the apps predicted 0 to 8 days shorter or longer than expected. For day of ovulation, for women 1–4, of the 36 predictions, 3 (8%) were exactly correct, 9 predicted 1 day too early (25%) and 67% of predictions were 2–9 days early. For woman 5, most of the apps predicted a later day of ovulation. Conclusion: Period tracker apps should ensure they only give women accurate information, especially for the day of ovulation and the fertile window which can only be predicted if using a marker of ovulation, such as basal body temperature, ovulation sticks or cervical mucus.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/17455065211049905
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