Interruptions in life and stress from the COVID-19 pandemic caused altered ovulation with a decrease in the duration or levels of progesterone, according to research presented Sunday at ENDO 2022, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Atlanta, Georgia.
The study was the first to observe uninterrupted ovulatory disorders during the pandemic.
“These silent ovulatory disorders probably explain why so many women who are not taking hormonal forms of birth control reported having early or unexpected periods in the days following a vaccination against COVID-19,” said Jerilynn C. Prior, MD, FRCPC, Professor of Endocrinology. at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Previous and colleagues compared two independent, similarly designed studies 13 years apart: the Menstrual Ovulation Study (MOS), which was performed on a group of 301 women between 2006 and 2008, and MOS2. , which studied 112 women during the pandemic. Both studies included menstruating women between the ages of 19 and 35 who did not take systemic or combined hormonal contraceptives.
The first MOS was used as a control to compare with the experiences of the MOS2 cohort during the pandemic. All participants in both studies answered a complete health, reproduction, and lifestyle questionnaire and were asked to keep a daily diary of their menstrual cycles and general life experiences.
For MOS2, ovulation was documented using a validated quantitative basal temperature. Researchers will confirm the hormonal characteristics of MOS2 using salivary progesterone levels. For the MOS cohort, the researchers evaluated ovulation by measuring urinary progesterone levels.
Nearly two in three women who participated in the study during COVID-19 were not ovulating normally, Prior said. Women experienced short luteal phases, in which an egg was released without enough time from ovulation for pregnancy to occur, or anovulation, that is, no egg was released.
In comparison, the MOS study found that only 10% of women experienced ovulatory disorders. MOS2 and MOS studies showed body weights, body mass index values, and menstrual cycles and similar flow lengths. Therefore, women with MOS2 did not experience obvious signs of reproductive interruption.
Menstrual Cycle Diary © reviews for MOS2 showed a significant increase in anxiety, depression, frustration (negative moods in general), perceived external tensions, sleep problems, and headaches. compared to MOS.
“Comparing the two studies, and especially their daily diaries, we can infer that disruptions in the SARS-CoV2 pandemic life cause silent ovulatory disorders within mostly regular menstrual cycles, providing a unique experience of nature,” Prior said.
Prior will speak at the Endocrine Society Reproductive Health Press Conference on Monday, June 13 at 9 p.m. Sign up for the press conference at www.endowebcasting.com.
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