B.C. study looking at how exposure to chemicals can impact reproductive cycles

Vancouver -

A student at a B.C. university is researching how chemical exposure can impact reproductive cycles.

Kyley Drach, from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, is looking into how various exposures can impact menstruation specifically.

She says there has been a lot of research into how this type of exposure can impact male fertility, but not a lot on how it can impact women. Her research also looks at how different lifestyle choices, like diet and exercise, can have either a positive or negative impact.

"There's definitely a lot of different lifestyle choices that can impact how many chemicals you're exposed to," Drach told CTV News Vancouver.

"Exercise is one of them that it seems like it depends on what type of exercise you do. Some can decrease pain and bleeding experienced and some you can see that with athletes if they're doing too much activity, they might stop having a period at all."

The things people eat and drink and their work situation can also have an impact, Drach said.

"Smoking and alcohol consumption can have an impact, definitely where you choose to work or if you do shift work or if you end up being sleep deprived … there's a lot of things that can throw off your hormone balances," Drach said.

Drach is looking for 3,000 female participants, between the ages of 18 and 35, to participate in the study. She says participants complete a one-time survey that takes about an hour to fill out.