O impacto do COVID-19 no ciclo menstrual de mulheres em idade reprodutiva

Abstract

Studies on the pathophysiological mechanisms of COVID-19 report the occurrence of postinfection systemic changes which, associated with complaints in gynecology outpatient clinics, contribute to the hypothesis of interference of COVID-19 in the menstrual cycle. The present study is characterized as an exploratory and observational ex-post-facto research in which women over 18 years of age in a reproductive period with a history of contagion by COVID19 were evaluated. The objective of the work is to analyze the menstrual changes of these women after infection by the virus and to identify the contributing factors. The research methodology involved the creation of a form through the GoogleForms® platform with questions regarding virus infection and possible post-infection changes in the menstrual cycle. From the distribution and closing of the form, data analysis and tabulation was performed, with the objective of identifying different factors among women who presented alterationsin the menstrual cycle and among infected women, but without menstrual alterations. The main outcomes of the research were the increase in the cycle length of the women who had 28-day cycles before the infection and the perception of an increase in the number of pads used after infection, compared to the previous amount, which denotes an increase in menstrual flow, considering the flow evaluation parameters through the use of daily pads, which corroborates the hypothesis of the influence of COVID-19 on the increase in menstrual flow, however, it was concluded that the variables may have influenced the results, demonstrating the need to further studies on the topic.