The Effect of COVID-19 on Menstrual Cycle of Women of Child-bearing Age

Muhammad Furqan Anwar Ghumman; Shafaq Saleem; Saima Bibi; Attiq Ur Rehman; Kashif Tousif; Umaira Ali

Muhammad Furqan Anwar Ghumman Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University
Shafaq Saleem Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University
Saima Bibi Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Holy Family Hospital
Attiq Ur Rehman Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University
Kashif Tousif Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University
Umaira Ali Department of Community Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of COVID-19 on menstrual cycle of women of child-bearing age.

Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was done on the females of reproductive age i.e., 15 to 49 years of age that belong to the twin city of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. After obtaining informed consent, a questionnaire was filled from each participant and the data obtained was analyzed by SPSS version 26. The p-value of 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: 127(42.8%) out of total 297 women reported menstrual cycle changes. 59 reported an increase in cycle length while 41 reported hypomenorrhea and only 9 observed inter-menstrual bleeding. The associations of changes in menstrual cycle were found to be significant with age, occupation, marital status and number of children (p-value<0.05).

Conclusion: The study concludes that COVID-19 infection does have an effect on women’s menstrual cycle which can affect female reproductive health in various ways. This warrants the need to consider the reproductive-health aspect of coronavirus infection as the virus keeps on evolving and after one wave passes, a new wave of COVID-19 infection comes.

Keywords: Menstrual cycle, COVID-19, reproductive health, hypomenorrhea