The COVID-19 vaccines affected people’s periods, especially for those who don’t typically have them due to long-acting contraceptives, gender-affirming hormone treatments, or menopause, a new study shows.

Researchers found that 42% of respondents with regular menstrual cycles bled more heavily than usual, while 44% reported no change after being vaccinated. Among those who participated in the study who typically do not menstruate, 71% of people on long-acting reversible contraceptives, 39% of people on gender-affirming hormones, and 66% of postmenopausal people reported breakthrough bleeding.

“We suspect that for most people the changes associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination are short-term, and we encourage anyone who is worried to contact their doctor for further care,” says Katharine Lee, assistant professor of anthropology at Tulane University School of Liberal Arts, and first author of the study in Science Advances.

“We want to reiterate that getting the vaccine is one of the best ways to prevent getting very sick with COVID, and we know that having COVID itself can lead not only to changes in periods, but also hospitalization, long COVID, and death.”

The analysis of reports from more than 35,000 people is the most comprehensive assessment so far of menstrual changes experienced by pre- and post-menopausal individuals in the first two weeks after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

However, the authors caution that because the opt-in survey relied on self-reported experiences, it cannot establish causality or be seen as predictive of people in the general population.

The study was launched shortly after the COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in 2021 when people began reporting on social media about changes in menstrual cycles after receiving the vaccine.

Read the full article about menstrual changes after COVID-19 vaccine by Keith Brannon at Futurity.