My Publications
A retrospective case-control study on menstrual cycle changes following COVID-19 vaccination and disease. Published in iScience
There has been increasing public concern that COVID-19 vaccination causes menstrual disturbance regarding the relative effect of vaccination compared to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our objectives were to test potential risk factors for reporting menstrual cycle changes following COVID-19 vaccination and to compare menstrual parameters following COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 disease. We performed a secondary analysis of a retrospective online survey conducted in the UK in March 2021. In pre-menopausal vaccinated participants (n = 4,989), 18% reported menstrual cycle changes after their first COVID-19 vaccine injection. The prevalence of reporting any menstrual changes was higher for women who smoke, have a history of COVID-19 disease, or are not using estradiol-containing contraceptives. In a second sample including both vaccinated and unvaccinated participants (n = 12,579), COVID-19 vaccination alone was not associated with abnormal menstrual cycle parameters, while a history of COVID-19 disease was associated with an increased risk of reporting heavier bleeding, “missed” periods, and inter-menstrual bleeding.
Preprint: The polarity and diversity of premenstrual testimonies are influenced by question framing in an online experiment (2022)
The extent to which premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is inherently negative or the result of medicalised framing has long remained unclear. We address this gap by investigating whether framing the premenstrual experience affects the responses. We use sentiment analysis to analyse responses from 2,638 participants.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the menstrual cycle: research gaps and opportunities (2021)
In this paper, we aimed to identify and evaluate the existing scientific literature on menstrual cycle feature changes in the COVID-19 pandemic and provide suggestions for future research.