Fertility Status as a Marker for Overall Health (R01)

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support research that explores the premise that fertility status can be a marker for overall health. It is clear that chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity can impair fertility, however less is known about the extent to which fertility status can impact or act as a marker for overall health.  Data suggest that infertility is not necessarily a unique disease of the reproductive axis, but is often physiologically or genetically linked with other diseases and conditions.  Recent epidemiologic studies demonstrate links between fertility status in both males and females and various somatic diseases and disorders.  Taken together, these data strongly suggest that fertility status can be a window into overall health. This FOA focuses on studies evaluating fertility as a marker for overall health and therefore applications that look at the effects of a disease or disorder on fertility are outside the scope of this program.