COVID-19 Vaccination and Menstrual Disorders Among Women: Findings from a meta-Analysis Study

Abstract

Background

COVID -19 vaccine can lead to various local and systemic side effects, including menstrual irregularities in women. There is no robust quantitative evidence of the association between the COVID -19 vaccine and menstrual irregularities. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled prevalence of a range of menstrual disorders that may occur in women following COVID -19 vaccination.

Methods

After searching for epidemiological studies, we systematically performed a meta-analysis on PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and Science Direct. Sixteen studies were finally included in the study. We estimated the pooled prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for a group of menstrual disorders, including menorrhagia, polymenorrhea, abnormal cycle length, and oligomenorrhea. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I ² statistic and the Q test.

Results

Overall, the pooled prevalence of menorrhagia was 24.24% (pooled prevalence 24.24%; 95% CI: 12.8-35.6%). The pooled prevalence of polymenorrhea was 16.2% (pooled prevalence: 16.2%; 95% CI: 10.7-21.6%). The pooled prevalence of abnormal cycle length was relatively lower than that of the other disorders (pooled prevalence: 6.6%; 95% CI: 5.0-8.2%). The pooled prevalence of oligomenorrhea was 22.7% (95% CI: 13.5-32.0%).

Conclusion

The findings indicate that menorrhagia, oligomenorrhea, and polymenorrhea were the most common menstrual irregularities after vaccination. The findings also suggest that a relatively high proportion of women suffer from menstrual irregularities. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual irregularities.