Detecting variations in ovulation and menstruation during the COVID-19 pandemic, using real-world mobile app data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

As war and famine are population level stressors that have been historically linked to menstrual cycle abnormalities, we hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic could similarly affect ovulation and menstruation among women.

Methodology

We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining changes in ovulation and menstruation among women using the Natural Cycles mobile tracking app. We compared de-identified cycle data from March-September 2019 (pre-pandemic) versus March-September 2020 (during pandemic) to determine differences in the proportion of users experiencing anovulation, abnormal cycle length, and prolonged menses, as well as population level changes in these parameters, while controlling for user-reported stress during the pandemic.

Findings

We ana

SUBMITTER: Nguyen BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8528316 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature