After many people on social media reported discrepancies in their menstrual cycles since the COVID-19 pandemic started, researchers decided to conduct a formal study to determine if stress under the pandemic was indeed a factor. Over half of the individuals in the study indicated that their menstrual cycle changed significantly.
Many people noticed that their menstrual cycle became irregular during the pandemic.
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Data was based on the survey responses of 210 people that had periods. Researchers looked at pre-COVID assessments before March 2020 and compared them to the assessments from March to June 2020. The survey asked questions regarding their stress levels and period cycles before and during COVID-19. The study found that people with higher levels of stress were more likely to have had irregular cycles. Some of the changes included longer duration of their period, changes in premenstrual symptoms, and heavier menstrual bleeding.
This is not a complete surprise—the study even referenced prior studies that established a connection between irregular menstrual cycles and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Stress, both emotional and physical, can cause hormonal imbalances which may disrupt a person’s cycle. Rates of insomnia have risen and sleep quality has decreased since the pandemic started—another potential influence on women’s health. However, this was one of the first formal studies that directly associated stress with irregular menstrual cycles and also placed it in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lack of data available prior to the COVID-19 pandemic about women’s cycles, something that has been attributed to the fact that historically, biomedical research has been male-dominated, causing many women-related issues to go understudied. This is something that many scientists have been trying to change.
The effects of the vaccines on menstrual cycles were not discussed but have been proposed by others as another area of study. In fact, five institutions have already been awarded grants to further investigate this. As there is still much progress to be made in studies on women’s reproductive health, researchers will likely be further enlightened about other potential influences in the future.
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