As experts in fertility and menstrual health, we wanted to find out more about the possible effects of COVID-19 on the menstrual cycle with femSense and present the results of our survey here!
The survey results on COVID and the cycle are in ????
The lively interest on social media and the many responses to our appeal have shown us that this topic is more topical than ever before: we were able to attract almost 300 participants in of this survey last week - with quite surprising results.
Numerous studies show that the human immune system is strongly influenced by biological sex. More recent studies also deal with Gender-specific immune responses to COVID-19. We wanted to find out whether femSense users had noticed any changes in their cycle or period in the weeks and months following an illness or vaccination - and we are delighted to present the results to you today!
Effects of COVID-19 and vaccination on cycle length
The survey was kept extremely short - most of the participants were finished after 2 minutes - and it was of course anonymous. Nevertheless, we were interested in the approximate age of the respondents because, unsurprisingly, age naturally has a major impact on fertility. The majority of our participants were aged between 31 and 40 - slightly above the actual average age of our respondents. femSense-users, which is between 25 and 34 years old.
Effects of COVID-19 and vaccination on cycle length
Almost half of all 300 survey participants did not notice any changes to their cycle length - regardless of whether they had contracted the COVID-19 virus or been vaccinated. Of the other half of the participants, the majority reported a longer cycle and the minority a shorter cycle. Here too, the difference between illness and vaccination was hardly noticeable for the respondents.
Effects on the period
Over half of all participants believe that they did not notice any changes to their period - whether after contracting the COVID-19 virus or being vaccinated. It was also more likely that the following period would be heavier rather than lighter. However, at 11.4%, more women reported a complete absence of their period after an illness than after their vaccination - there it was "only" 5.3%.
Changes in cycle-related symptoms
While many women did not notice any effects on cycle length or periods per se, there were other cycle-related symptoms that were perceived more strongly. The clear "winners" in this category were increased mood swings as well as increased PMS and menstrual pain - here too, both recovered and vaccinated women reported similar levels of symptoms. However, there was a marked difference in the reporting of skin problems - around a fifth ticked "skin problems after vaccination", while only a tenth ticked "skin problems after illness".
Thank you for your personal answers, experiences & opinions!
At the end of our short survey, we gave participants the opportunity to say a few words to us on the subject. We received a handful of heartbreaking messages about miscarriages - which their authors linked to their illness or their vaccination. It is a fact that experts consider expectant mothers to be at risk - that the vaccination makes them infertile, which a few of our participants were afraid of, however, is absolutely not proven.
Apart from that, we also received many kind words of thanks in our mailbox: "Thank you for taking on this exciting topic" was one of them. WE say thank you, thank you for your time, for taking part and for your very personal answers!
Your femSense team
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