People reported more painful periods and other disturbances
As vaccine roll-out programs push on around the globe and scientists monitor new variants of COVID-19, researchers have turned their attention to the wider implications that the pandemic may have had on people’s mental and physical health. Charities have highlighted that school closures and lockdowns may have caused lasting damage to some people’s mental wellbeing.
A new study has linked the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in people’s menstrual cycles and sex drives. Researchers in Dublin spoke to women and people who menstruate about their overall health and found that the immense stress of the pandemic may have had some surprising effects.
Dr. Lisa Owens led a team of researchers at Trinity College Dublin. They spoke to over 1,300 women and people who menstruate in April 2021 about their experiences of depression, anxiety, how they’ve slept and how they’ve dealt with the unique pressures that the pandemic may have thrown at them. They presented their findings at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.
Perhaps surprisingly 54% of people surveyed said that they’d notice that their sex drive was lower throughout the pandemic. The leaders of the study noted that this could be because people had to take on new responsibilities and anxieties throughout COVID-19. Many people had to come to terms with working from home, sharing workspace with a partner, negotiating childcare and monitoring the developments of the pandemic.
When you’re stressed for a sustained period of time your body releases cortisol. This is the hormone that triggers your fight or flight response and can be a really positive thing. It can ensure that you remove yourself from dangerous situations. However, many people found themselves negotiating a stressful new way of life that they couldn’t escape.
When released in high levels, cortisol can decrease your sex drive and your interest in sex. Stress can leave you feeling preoccupied, tired or in need of a time out. It’s hardly surprising that sex may not be on the top of your list of priorities when you feel that way. Depression and anxiety have also been linked to a decrease in libido.
Researchers also linked the pandemic to disturbances in participants' menstrual cycles.
Dr. Owens found that 56% of participants had experienced some sort of change in their menstrual cycle since the beginning of the pandemic. 64% said that they’d experienced worse pre-menstrual symptoms such as mood swings and cramping. Participants also reported a monumental rise in feelings of anxiety and poor sleep.
The researchers concluded that an increase in menstrual disturbances could be linked to increased mental distress and poor sleep during COVID-19. “This study was conducted at a relatively early stage of the COVID-19 vaccination program, so the length of the pandemic and effectiveness of the vaccine may influence future findings, further investigation with objective, measurable data is needed,” said Dr. Michelle Maher who worked on the study. “We would encourage women experiencing any reproductive disturbances such as (irregular, missed periods, painful or heavy periods, PMS or reduced sex drive) as well as mental health disturbances (including symptoms of low mood, anxiety, stress and poor sleep) to see their GP for advice."
As mentioned earlier, a rise in cortisol can send your body into a state of increased anxiety. If you spend a prolonged period of time like this then your period may stop. This is your bodies way of telling you it’s not ready to conceive a child right now.
This study, conducted at Trinity College Dublin, isn’t the first to highlight how the pandemic may have impacted peoples periods.
Other scientists have sought to establish if any of the COVID-19 vaccines were having an impact on people’s menstrual cycles. After 30,000 people reported some changes to their menstrual cycle following their vaccine leading immunologist Victoria Male wrote in the BMJ, “Vaccine hesitancy among young women is largely driven by false claims that COVID-19 vaccines could harm their fertility, and failing to thoroughly investigate reports of menstrual changes after vaccination is likely to fuel these fears. If a link between vaccination and menstrual changes is confirmed, this information will allow people to plan for potentially altered menstrual cycle phases.”
