Abstract
Background and aims: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended universal vaccination to control the spread of the virus. Reports of menstrual disorders began to appear in the community after the initiation of vaccination. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of menstrual disorders and their relationship with resilience among women following COVID-19 vaccination.
Methods: This case-control study was conducted among 200 vaccinated and 200 non-vaccinated women aged 18–45 years covered by comprehensive health centers in Shahrekord, Iran. They were selected using two-stage random sampling. The data were collected between February and October 2023 using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Pictorial Blood Loss Assessment Chart to assess menstrual disorders, and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25) to measure psychological resilience. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS 27 using an independent t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests.
Results: The overall prevalence of menstrual disorders among 100 vaccinated women was 50.0%, with 44% in Sinopharm and 56% in AstraZeneca recipients (P=0.028). Most disorders occurred after the first vaccine dose in the AstraZeneca group (P<0.001). In addition, the most common disorders were increased bleeding volume and spotting (both P=0.001). The mean total resilience scores were 59.23±6.85, 60.90±6.84, and 57.28±7.07 in the Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and non-vaccinated groups, respectively (P<0.001). Moreover, a significant negative correlation was found between total resilience score and the severity of menstrual disorders (r=–0.32, P<0.01), indicating that higher resilience was associated with fewer menstrual problems.
Conclusion: Our findings revealed an association between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual cycle changes among women, with a higher prevalence of disorders among AstraZeneca recipients. Vaccinated women demonstrated higher resilience scores, and greater resilience appeared to buffer against menstrual disturbances. These findings highlight the importance of psychological resilience in moderating post-vaccination reproductive changes. However, causal relationships cannot be inferred due to the case-control design.