AUTHOR=Chao Melissa Jung , Menon Carlo , Elgendi Mohamed 

TITLE=Effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the menstrual cycle

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.1065421

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.1065421

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Numerous anecdotal accounts and qualitative research studies have reported on post-vaccination menstrual irregularities in women of reproductive age. However, none have quantified the impact. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify and characterize the menstrual irregularities associated with vaccination for women of reproductive age. A search on July 20, 2022 retrieved articles published between December 1, 2019 and July 1, 2022 from MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science. The included articles were studies with full texts written in English that reported on menstrual irregularities for vaccinated versus unvaccinated women of reproductive age. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Study Quality Assessment Tool for Observation Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Four observational studies were included. Review Manager was used to generate a forest plot with odds ratios (ORs) at the 95% confidence interval (CI), finding statistically significant associations between vaccination and menstrual irregularities for 25,054 women of reproductive age (OR = 1.91, CI 1.76 – 2.07) with a significant overall effect of the mean (Z = 16.01, p < 0.0001). The studies were heterogeneous with significant dispersion of values (χ2 = 16.01 at df = 3, p < 0.00001, I2 = 98%). The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis are limited by the availability of quantitative data. The results have implications for adequately treating women of reproductive age with menstrual irregularities and informing them about potential side-effects of vaccinations.