Menstrual Abnormalities Strongly Associated with Proximity to COVID-19 Vaccinated Individuals: A Survey Study in Unvaccinated Women

• Published in: Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) Calif.), 2024-01, Vol.22 (6), p.38-51
• Main Authors: Peters, Sue E, Newman, Jill, Ray, Heather, Thorp, James A, Parotto, Tiffany, Hooker, Brian, McDyer, Dan, Murphy, Leonard, Stricker, Raphael B, McDonnell, Maureen, Mills, Paul J, Geick, Warren, Northrup, Christiane
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Biodistribution; Collaboration; COVID-19 vaccines; Disease control; Disease transmission; Gene therapy; Genetic engineering; Immunization; Lymphatic system; Menstruation; mRNA vaccines; Nanoparticles; Observational studies; Pharmacokinetics; Proteins; Social networks; Womens health
• ISSN: 1546-993X; 1945-7081

Background: Recent studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) document an increased incidence of menstrual cycle irregularities foUowing CO VID-19 vaccination. In Spring 2021, MyCycleStory5^1 launched a secure online survey in which 6049 women self-reported menstrual irregularities. We have examined possible associations of proximity to a vaccinated person and the timing of menstrual abnormalities after this exposure. Methods: A subset of 3390 women with no known prior spike protein exposure, defined as 1) being unvaccinated for CO VID-19; 2) having had no CO VID-19 symptoms; and 3) not having had a positive test for CO VID-19, were the focus of this study. Generalized linear mixed modeling was conducted to examine the association (not assuming causation) between abnormal symptoms experienced for the first time and the key proximity measures of interest. Irregular menstrual symptoms according to exposure were analyzed using a Chi-Square or Students t-test, and differences in symptom onset between age groups were analyzed using Chi Square, Kruskal-Wallis or ANOVA tests as appropriate. As with any observational study using self-reported data, some bias may exist. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 37.8 ±0.1 (SEM) years, and 92.3% of participants started having irregular menstrual symptoms after January 2021. The percentage of previously unexposed participants with some level of contact within 6 feet of a vaccinated person was 85.5%. Of these, 71.7% had irregular menstrual symptoms within one week after contact with a vaccinated person, while 50.1% experienced irregular menstrual symptoms within 7 days early), and extended menstrual bleeding (>7 days), [(1.34,95% CI = (1.08,1.65), P < .01); (1.28,95% CI = (1.03, 1.59), P = .03); and (1.26, 95% CI = (1.01, 1.57), P = .04) respectively]. For symptom onset 3 days, the results showed a significantly higher RR for four outcomes. These were early menses (>7 days early) (1.2, 95% CI = (1.01, 1.42), P = .04); extended menstrual bleeding (>7 days) (1.25, 95% CI = (1.05, 1.49), P = .01); decidual cast shedding (1.6,95% CI = (1.08,2.38), P = .02); and reporting