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Menstrual disturbance associated with COVID-19 vaccines: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

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Listed:
  • Kunchok Dorjee
  • R C Sadoff
  • Farima Rahimi Mansour
  • Sangyal Dorjee
  • Eli M Binder
  • Maria Stetson
  • Regina Yuen
  • Hyunju Kim

Abstract

Background: The relationship between COVID-19 vaccines and menstrual disturbance is unclear, in part because researchers have measured different outcomes (e.g., delays vs. changes to cycle length) with various study designs. Menstrual disruption could be a decisive factor in people’s willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, and Web of Science for studies investigating menstrual cycle length, flow volume, post-menopausal bleeding, and unexpected or intermenstrual bleeding. Data were analyzed using fixed-effects meta-analysis with Shore’s adjusted confidence intervals for heterogeneity. Findings: Seventeen studies with >1·9 million participants were analyzed. We found a 19% greater risk of increase in menstrual cycle length as compared to unvaccinated people or pre-vaccination time-periods (summary relative risk (sRR): 1·19; 95% CI: 1·11–1·26; n = 23,718 participants). The increase in risk was the same for Pfizer-BioNTech (sRR: 1·15; 1·05–1·27; n = 16,595) and Moderna vaccines (sRR: 1·15; 1·05–1·25; n = 7,523), similar for AstraZeneca (sRR: 1·27; 1·02–1·59; n = 532), and higher for the Janssen (sRR: 1·69; 1·14–2·52; n = 751) vaccine. In the first cycle after vaccination, length increased by

Suggested Citation

  • Kunchok Dorjee & R C Sadoff & Farima Rahimi Mansour & Sangyal Dorjee & Eli M Binder & Maria Stetson & Regina Yuen & Hyunju Kim, 2025. "Menstrual disturbance associated with COVID-19 vaccines: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0320162
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320162
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