Survey study, 2022
Do women hospitalized with COVID-19 experience menstrual changes and mental health problems?
More than a third of hospitalized women reported menstrual changes after COVID-19. Women reporting mental health symptoms were roughly twice as likely to report menstrual changes.
What they did
One hundred fifty-eight women hospitalized with COVID-19 in Indonesia completed a survey during their hospital stay and again three months after discharge. They answered questions about their menstrual patterns and mental health symptoms.
What they found
37.3% reported a change in menstrual pattern after infection. Menstrual irregularity and heavy menstrual bleeding increased. 32.3% had neurotic symptoms, 12.7% had psychotic symptoms, and 38.0% had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Women with mental health symptoms were twice as likely to report a menstrual change.
What it means for you
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients experienced menstrual changes and mental health symptoms, with a connection between the two. However, the study was in one hospital in Indonesia and relied on women's self-reports, so results may not apply elsewhere.
158
women studied
37.3%
with menstrual changes after COVID-19
38.0%
with PTSD symptoms
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual cycle changes and mental health states of women hospitalized due to COVID-19
- Authors
- Muharam R, Agiananda F, Budiman YF et al.
- Journal
- PloS one
- Year
- 2022
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 158
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270658
Original abstract
Purpose: Many studies have evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's mental health and menstrual changes. However, most of these studies only included nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients, while information on hospitalized women is very limited. Thus, this study aimed to examine the mental health status and menstrual changes in hospitalized female COVID-19 patients. Methods: A survey was administered to female COVID-19 patients in the isolation ward of a national referral hospital in Indonesia between January and August 2021, and the women were followed up 3 months after discharge. The survey evaluated menstrual patterns and mental health using the Self Reporting Questionnaire-29 (SRQ-29). Results: The study enrolled 158 female patients. There was an increase in patients who had a cycle length of > 32 or < 24 days, and significant increases in menstrual irregularity and heavy menstrual bleeding were noted. Overall, 37.3% of the patients reported a change in menstrual pattern after infection with COVID-19. Based on SRQ-29 scores, 32.3% of the women had neurotic symptoms, 12.7% had psychotic symptoms, and 38.0% had symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Patients with symptoms of mental health disorders were twice as likely to report a menstrual change (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.12-4.22; p = 0.021). Conclusion: Menstrual changes and increased symptoms of mental health disorders occur in hospitalized female COVID-19 patients. The length of isolation was the key factor affecting overall menstrual changes and mental health in hospitalized female COVID-19 patients.
Reproduced under CC-BY.