Teen Period app study to understand menstruation and iron deficiency in newly tapped teens
Official title: The Teen Period (T-Dot) cohort: a longitudinal study to understand patterns of menstruation and risk factors for iron deficiency in the early post-menarchal years
Funded at Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp · NIH-11466141 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A national study using a teen-friendly mobile app to track menstruation and identify factors linked to iron deficiency in girls who have just started menstruating.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $631,127 |
| NIH project number | 1R01HD117481-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11466141 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are newly menarchal girls or transgender/non-binary youth who have recently begun menstruating and have access to a smartphone.
✕Less likely to help
Teens who do not use or have access to the app may not directly benefit from the study.
What this research studies
This project will enroll newly menarchal adolescents and ask them to use a secure mobile app to log their menstrual patterns, symptoms, and related health data. Researchers will combine app data with health indicators to build a population-level picture of normal and abnormal periods and how they relate to iron levels. Findings aim to inform clinicians and families about early signs of iron deficiency and healthy management during early adolescence.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the study could improve early detection of iron deficiency in teens and guide personalized guidance on menstrual health.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary feasibility and engagement with the T-Dot app shown in prior NICHD work supports broader nationwide data collection.
Where this research is happening
-
Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Obrien, Sarah H — Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
- Study coordinator: Obrien, Sarah H
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
IOP and CSF Pressure in Glaucoma Risk
This grant studies how eye pressure and cerebrospinal fluid pressure together influence glaucoma risk and vision loss.
-
ALS risk factors in a long-term ALS study
A long-term ALS study is looking at which factors may influence disease risk and progression in people living with ALS.
-
Understanding how work exposures and genes influence ALS risk
A study is building a long-term group of people at higher risk for ALS to see how their jobs, exposures at work, and genes together affect if and when the disease might develop.
-
P-CARRS-BRAIN: Predicting Alzheimer’s risk in South Asians in India using genetic, behavior, and vascular data
Aims to predict Alzheimer’s disease risk in middle-aged South Asians by combining genetic, lifestyle, and vascular information to catch early changes before dementia develops.
-
P-CARRS-BRAIN: Predicting Alzheimer’s risk in South Asians in India using genetics, behavior, and vascular data
Aimed at people 21 and older, this project looks at how biology, behavior, and blood vessel health together may signal the early risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in South Asians.
-
Understanding how risk factors affect progression of cirrhosis and response to statins in patients with cirrhosis
This project follows people with cirrhosis to see what factors speed up their liver disease and whether statin medicines help prevent worsening.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.