The DIBS Study: Diet, Inflammation, BMI, Stress

Dietary Fat Intake, Obesity, and Stress in Women with Premenstrual Mood Disorders: A Perfect Storm for Inflammation?

The Johns Hopkins Reproductive Mental Health Center, at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is seeking individuals with regular menstrual cycles to participate in a research study on premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), or mood changes and diet in the week before a menstrual period. This study will also be investigating the relationship between diet, PMS/PMDD, and inflammation. We are looking both for women who DO experience premenstrual mood symptoms and women who do NOT experience premenstrual mood symptoms before their periods. We are looking for women who have healthy BMIs (18.5-24.9) and overweight BMIs (greater than or equal to 25).

Participants will have 1 remote visit, including mood questionnaires, tracking your menstrual cycle, and providing saliva and stool samples. Following the remote visit, there will be an in-person laboratory visit that will take around 3 hours to complete.

To be eligible for the study, participants must:

• Be age 18-50
• Have a regular menstrual cycle
• Not be taking hormonal birth control
• Not using psychiatric medications
• No history of endocrine disorders
• No regular tobacco use
• Participants can receive $100 in compensation for completion of the study.

Study Location: Johns Hopkins Reproductive Mental Health Center, 550 North Broadway St., Baltimore, MD 21205

Contact Information:
Research Assistant: Michelle Nazareth
Email: [email protected]
Principal Investigator : Liisa Hantsoo, Ph.D (Protocol#: IRB00464411)
For more information and to complete the online screening. 

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Enrollment is complete; we are no longer recruiting for the following studies.

• Looking for child brain scientists!
  Help us understand how the brain affects food intake in children by participating in the Brain Effects on Appetite and Metabolism (BEAM) study. You and your child may be eligible if your child is: 9-11 years old, willing to have a blood draw and MRI (brain scan), and willing to come to Johns Hopkins for 3 study visits over 1 year. Children and their families earn $345 for completing 1 screening + 3 study visits spread out over 1 year. PI (Johns Hopkins): Susan Carnell, PhD, JHM IRB 00210835. Learn more.
• Are you an expecting or new mother, or do you have a child under 6 years of age?
  We and our collaborators at Brown University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of California Davis, Wellesley College, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona, are working on an NIH-sponsored ECHO project based at the Advanced Baby Imaging Lab at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, the Pediatric Division of Rhode Island Hospital. It focuses on understanding how environmental exposures affect child brain development and health outcomes. This includes understanding factors like early nutrition (and breastfeeding), eating habits and obesity, sleep and physical activity, and air and water quality. We also collect information in the microbiome and our genetics to understand how these factors influence brain health.As part of this project, we are recruiting soon-to-be and current mothers with infants less than 6 months of age. The study involves assessments of maternal and fetal / infant nutritional health, cognitive performance (such as IQ, language development, etc.) and brain development (assessed by ultrasound, US, and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI. We also have detailed questionnaires about sleep, eating behaviors, family environment, and child activities. All assessments are safe and painless for you and your infant. If you live in Rhode Island and would like to participate in this study, please email ([email protected]), call (401-338-6943), or fill out this form and we will get in touch ASAP. PI (Johns Hopkins): Susan Carnell, PhD, JHM IRB 90081346