This is not the first time that the relationship between the menstrual cycle and vaccination versus COVID-19. Although experts maintain that it is still necessary more evidence on thisfor the moment the results are reassuring.
Last week it was made public largest observational study conducted to date with 39,129 participants aged 18 to 80 – women and non-binary people – published in Scientists progress.
The work, conducted by researchers from the US Universities of Illinois, Harvard and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, reveals that 42% of those who participated had a regular menstrual cycle and experienced an increase in bleeding from their periods within two weeks. to take the dose, while another 44% reported no change.
The rule and the covid
Similarly, the research describes for the first time occurrence of spontaneous menstrual bleeding in a large number of people who did not have menstruation —because they were in menopause or were taking a hormonal contraceptive or gender reassignment treatment—, after receiving the vaccine.
However, the authors point out that these variations are temporary, they are not dangerous and they are associated with certain triggering factors, such as age, systemic side effects associated with the vaccine (fever or fatigue) or history of pregnancy and childbirth, among others.
Thus, the study indicates that some groups are more likely have a heavy flow after vaccination.
These include premenopausal women, Hispanic or Latino women, those who had been pregnant or gave birth before receiving the vaccine, and those with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Building trust in the health system
In separate statements, Judy Ormandyprofessor of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at the University of Otago (New Zealand), points out that “menstrual alterations were common after vaccination against covid.
This is plausible, since we know that menstruation is affected by illness and stress. However, care must be taken because there may be a selection bias: people who have noticed menstrual changes are more likely to respond, ”he pointed out to the SMC United Kingdom.
“There is no risk”
“In general, changes in menstrual bleeding are neither uncommon nor dangerous, but attention to these experiences is necessary to build confidence in medicine,” the authors write, noting the long history of medical misogyny experienced by menstruating people.
“Many of our participants indicate that they would have preferred to be informed changes in menstrual bleeding before getting vaccinated, because then they would not have been fear“, he tells Sinc Catherine Clancyauthor from the University of Illinois.
The bone test protocols Vaccinators generally do not monitor beyond seven days after inoculation, and follow-up work does not usually ask about menstruation. Therefore, the vaccine manufacturers against SARS-CoV-2 have not addressed the phenomenon of unexpected menstrual bleeding.
“One of the great factors that produces doubts and rejection towards vaccines is the mistrust in the medical industry,” says Clancy. “Everyone deserves to know what side effects can occur with a given treatment. Informing patients helps them feel more comfortable and safe when they consult the healthcare system and to believe that doctors, pharmaceutical companies and the government care about their health. Health“, he keeps on.
Clancy notes that with the study, they wanted to “show patients that they deserve to be heard. Many people from diverse gender participated in the study and, for them, having their period at a time when they were taking a treatment that should have prevented them from having their period was really painful”.
No causal relationship
While experts agree on the importance of measuring any change, they stress the importance of doing so with quality studies that can be extrapolated. In this case, the authors describe that the sample evaluated with the survey not representative of the general population. The associations described are also not causal, but they provide evidence study better these trends.
Of course, the message the scientists want to get across is that the vaccine has no adverse effects on fertility or pregnancy. “Tests show that receiving the drug has no negative impact and is important to protect the pregnant women and their babies. These new findings are no surprise, and certainly no reason to delay or avoid the covid-19 vaccine.” Helen Petousis-Harrisfrom the University of Auckland, SMC Australia.