Impact of COVID-19 vaccination on menstruation pattern among female nursing and paramedical students in a peripheral medical college in Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Many females worldwide have reported abnormalities in their menstrual patterns post-COVID-19 vaccination. The present study was conducted to determine the impact of the COVID-19 vaccination on menstrual patterns among female nursing and paramedical students at a peripheral medical college in eastern India. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional, online self-administered survey was conducted using Microsoft Forms after taking institutional ethical clearance and informed consent from the participants. Two hundred BSc nursing and paramedical students who had received two doses of COVID vaccination (Covaxin or Covishield) and were not suffering from any endocrinopathies, bleeding disorders, structural gynecological abnormalities, or taking any medication known to affect the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis were included in the study. The questionnaire included menstrual length cycle length and amount of bleeding and there were no direct identifiers. Results: The participants reported a significant increase in the amount of bleeding on the heaviest day (mean ± standard deviation [SD] of the number of pads used was 3.52 ± 1.15 during prevaccination months vs. 4.64 ± 1.36 during postvaccination months; P < 0.001) following vaccination. A similar result of increased bleeding on the heaviest day of the period was obtained in both the Covaxin group (mean ± SD: 3.08 ± 1.16 vs. 4.88 ± 1.53; P: 0.001) and the Covishield group (mean ± SD: 3.59 ± 1.13 vs. 4.6 ± 1.34; P < 0.001). No difference in change in the menstrual pattern was observed between the two groups who had received two different types of vaccine (P: 0.527). Conclusion: The study showed a possible connection between the COVID-19 vaccination and the change in menstrual patterns.