Survey study, 1988
How do birth control methods and smoking affect menstrual periods?
Women taking oral contraceptives report fewer menstrual problems like heavy or painful periods. Women using IUCDs report heavier and more frequent periods. Smokers report more menstrual problems than non-smokers, with current smokers reporting the worst.
What they did
2,115 women aged 18-49 completed a postal questionnaire about their menstrual patterns and contraceptive use. Researchers looked for seven types of menstrual problems: prolonged periods, heavy periods, frequent periods, irregular periods, bleeding between periods, painful periods, and severe premenstrual syndrome.
What they found
Women on oral contraceptives reported fewer menstrual abnormalities except for bleeding between periods and severe premenstrual tension. Women using IUCDs reported prolonged, heavy, and frequent periods and bleeding between periods more often than others, but not more painful periods. Women with tubal sterilization reported patterns similar to those using no contraception. Smokers reported significantly more abnormal menstrual patterns than non-smokers for all except severe premenstrual tension. Current smokers reported the worst, ex-smokers were intermediate, and non-smokers reported the best.
What it means for you
The pill appears to reduce most menstrual problems, while IUCDs increase some. Smoking is associated with worse menstrual patterns across most categories. The authors suggest these findings should guide treatment decisions. The main limitation is that this is self-reported data from a single timepoint, so cause and effect cannot be proven.
2,115
women surveyed
7
types of menstrual problems examined
18-49
age range in years
About the study
- Original title
- The influence of method of contraception and cigarette smoking on menstrual patterns
- Authors
- Brown S, Vessey M, Stratton I
- Journal
- British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 2,115
- What was tested
- None (observational survey of contraceptive use and smoking)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb06578.x
Topics
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