Here's a glimpse at some of the research going on at The Kinsey Institute.

You can find out more about these projects, and information on all our ongoing research on our Current Research page >>

Dr. Virginia Vitzthum is beginning a ground-breaking study in rural Bolivia of the changes in hormones and health indicators that can affect women as they undergo the transition to menopause, called peri-menopause.

This study will be the first comprehensive examination of these kinds of peri-menopausal changes in a non-industrialized population, and will also be the first study to test whether these changes differ between industrialized (e.g., U.S.) and non-industrialized populations.

Dr Vitzthum is returning to work with a group in the Bolivian highlands that she first studied over a decade ago in her research on reproductive rates in rural populations, making her study also the first to evaluate, in the same sample of women, the relationship between hormone levels at the peak of a woman’s child-bearing years and those during her transition through menopause.

The results of Dr. Vitzthum's research may have far-reaching implications for the wellbeing of menopausal women around the world.