Petrine Jéssica Pereira Castro, Jacques Larissa Sampaio, da Cruz Santos Tayná Márcia, Pereira Fernanda Aparecida Castro, Castelo Paula Midori, -Borges Bruno Del Bianco
Department of Food Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA, Campus Universitário, Lavras, CP: 3037, 37200-000, Brazil.
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Science, Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA; Campus Universitário, Lavras, CP: 3037, 37200-000, Brazil.
Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Apr;28(2):321-327. doi: 10.1007/s00737-024-01499-1. Epub 2024 Aug 9.
Stress, infections, and psychological and social well-being can affect the reproductive system. Activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis can disrupt ovarian cyclicity. Estrogens can modulate stress responsiveness and mood. Thus, understanding this interaction and how it modulates the menstrual cycle is crucial for women's reproductive health.
The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of a stressor, a period of the Covid-19 pandemic when there were no vaccines available yet, on the psychological state of women aged 18 to 45 years; as well as the influence of mental health on the menstrual cycle, considering the influence of age and hormonal contraceptives.
Online questionnaire using the Google Forms platform was used.
There is a high prevalence of the onset of new psychosocial symptoms. Moreover, most women reported some type of change in their menstrual cycles. The women who were using hormonal contraceptives demonstrated a higher frequency of spotting and menstrual color alterations, while women without hormonal contraceptives demonstrated a higher frequency of cycle duration and menstrual odor alterations. Women without hormonal contraceptives were more susceptible to the development of psychosocial symptoms. Younger adult women were more affected by menstrual changes and psychosocial symptoms. Close to 90% of women who reported several psychosocial symptoms had changes in their menstrual cycles.
These data suggest the impact of stressors, such as a period of the pandemic, on mental health and menstrual cycles, and younger adult women can be more susceptible. This reflects the relationship between mental and reproductive health.
压力、感染以及心理和社会幸福感会影响生殖系统。下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴的激活会扰乱卵巢周期性。雌激素可调节应激反应和情绪。因此，了解这种相互作用及其如何调节月经周期对女性生殖健康至关重要。
本研究的目的是分析一种应激源，即新冠疫情期间尚无疫苗可用的那段时间，对18至45岁女性心理状态的影响；以及考虑年龄和激素避孕药的影响，心理健康对月经周期的影响。
使用谷歌表单平台进行在线问卷调查。
新的心理社会症状发作的患病率很高。此外，大多数女性报告月经周期有某种类型的变化。使用激素避孕药的女性出现点滴出血和月经颜色改变的频率较高，而未使用激素避孕药的女性出现周期时长和月经气味改变的频率较高。未使用激素避孕药的女性更容易出现心理社会症状。年轻成年女性受月经变化和心理社会症状的影响更大。报告有多种心理社会症状的女性中，近90%月经周期有变化。
这些数据表明诸如疫情期间这样的应激源对心理健康和月经周期有影响，年轻成年女性可能更易受影响。这反映了心理与生殖健康之间的关系。
