How lifestyle changes within the COVID-19 global pandemic have affected the pattern and symptoms of the menstrual cycle

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes to homes, working life and stress. The purpose of this research was to investigate the implications that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the menstrual cycle and any contributing factors to these changes. Methods: A questionnaire was completed by 749 participants, whom ranged from physically active to elite, in their training status. The questionnaire captured detail on menstrual cycle symptoms and characteristics prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, as well as lifestyle, stress, exercise and nutrition. Descriptive statistics and frequency distribution were reported and decision tree analysis performed. Statistical significance was assumed at p<0.05. Results: Fifty-two point six percent of females experienced a change in their menstrual cycle during the lockdown period. Psychosocial symptoms had changed in over half of all participants. Participants who reported increased stress/worry in family and personal health were significantly associated with changes in menstrual symptoms. Similarly, job security stress was associated with increases in bleeding time (p<0.05). Conclusions: It is important that females and practitioners become aware of the implications of stressful environments and the possible long-term implications on fertility, particularly given the uncertainty around a second wave of the global pandemic.

Self-Selected COVID-19 “Unvaccinated” Cohort Reports Favorable Health Outcomes and Unjustified Discrimination in Global Survey

“…Such disturbances have been reported in the literature in association with COVID-19 disease (e.g. Sharp et al, 2021), lifestyle changes associated with the pandemic (Bruinvels et al, 2021), and particularly following COVID-19 vaccination (e.g. Alvergne et al, 2021;Trogstad, 2022).…”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the menstrual cycle: research gaps and opportunities

“…The review process is summarized in Figure 1. We identified 12 small studies reporting on menstrual cycle features during the pandemic, either in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic period (Table 1; [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] or COVID-19 illness specifically (Table 2; [24][25][26] ) All studies are summarized in more detail in Supplementary Table S1, available as Supplementary data at IJE online. Articles were included if they described features of the menstrual cycle (e.g.…”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the menstrual cycle: research gaps and opportunities

“…In this paper, we aimed to identify and evaluate the existing scientific literature and provide suggestions for future research. Using a pre-specified search protocol (available at: https://osf.io/xg3mw/), we identified seven small studies reporting on menstrual cycle features during the pandemic, either in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic period (Table 1; (8)(9)(10)(11)) or COVID-19 infection/illness specifically (Table 2; (12)(13)(14)). Articles were included if they described features of the menstrual cycle (e.g., cycle length, regularity, heaviness, pain, PMS symptoms) before and during, or over the course of, the COVID-19 pandemic.…”