ReviewBMJ sexual & reproductive health2024
Association between COVID-19 vaccination and menstruation: a state of the science review.
Review in BMJ sexual & reproductive health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence of menstrual alterations following COVID-19 vaccination: systematic review & meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2024Pooled it
- Inflammatory mechanisms of menstrual cycle changes following COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents.Vaccine · 2026Article
- Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Menstrual Irregularities, Bleeding Patterns, and Cycle Duration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Menstrual Cycle Length Changes Following Vaccination Against Influenza Alone or With COVID-19.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Alterations in menstrual characteristics and associated factors in Chinese women post SARS-CoV-2 infection: a cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Brief report: Older adolescents and young adults may be at higher risk for changes to menstrual cycle length with COVID-19 vaccination.PloS one · 2025Article
- Relation Between COVID-19 Infection and Vaccine and Menstrual Cycle Changes of Portuguese Adolescents in Higher Education.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Covid-19 vaccination and menstrual bleeding disturbances among women of fertile age: a Norwegian registry study.European journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionMenstrual health is a key patient-reported outcome beyond its importance as a general indicator of health and fertility. However, menstrual function was not measured in the clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of this review was to synthesise the existing literature on the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual health outcomes.
methodsA PubMed search to 31 October 2023 identified a total of 53 publications: 11 prospective cohort studies, 11 retrospective cohort studies or registry-based cohort studies, and 31 cross-sectional or retrospective case-control studies.
resultsIdentified studies were generally at moderate-to-high risk of bias due to retrospective design, interviewer bias, and failure to include a non-vaccinated control group. Nonetheless, the bulk of the literature demonstrates that COVID-19 vaccine is associated with temporary changes in menstrual characteristics (cycle length and flow) and menstrual pain. Follicular phase (at the time of vaccination) is associated with greater increases in cycle length. Evidence suggests temporary post-vaccine menstrual changes in adolescents, abnormal vaginal bleeding in postmenopausal individuals, and a potential protective effect of using hormonal contraception.
conclusionsIn this review we found evidence supporting an association between the COVID-19 vaccine and menstrual health outcomes. Given the importance of menstrual function to overall health, we recommend that all future vaccine trials include menstruation as a study outcome. Future vaccine studies should include rigorous assessment of the menstrual cycle as an outcome variable to limit sources of bias, identify biological mechanisms, and elucidate the impact of stress.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.