Menstrual Cycle Characteristics of Healthcare Professionals

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers physically and psychologically. Healthcare workers have ben required to work under stressful conditions and take difficult decisions involving ethical implications. Increasing work demands on healthcare professionals conflict with their duties to family and friends, which causes psychological stress. All of these factors may negatively affect their menstrual cycle.

The aim of this study is to examine whether there is a change in menstrual cycle characteristics during pandemia. Second aim is to investigate whether there is an association between Covid 19 infection and menstrual cycle changes.

This cross-sectional study is conducted with healthy female participants who are working at Haydarpasa Numune Research and Training Hospital in Turkey. The researcher investigates the characteristics of menstrual cycle in female healthy workers employed in Covid 19 pandemic inpatient and outpatient clinics. The participants who are sure about their pertinent information are enrolled in the study. The exclusion criteria includes pregnancy, history of hysterectomy, oophorectomy, diseases like Asherman's syndrome and also history of endocrine disorders (progesterone deficiency, thyroid disorders and diabetes mellitus), oral contraceptive use, malignancy, primary amenorrhea, menopause and lactation.

After informed consent, detailed information is collected using structured questionnaires about their reproductive factors and menstrual cycles by direct interviews. The questionnaire contains questions about age, work experience, marital status, height, weight, working hours, use of medication, menstrual cycle characteristics (including cycle duration, duration and amount of bleeding, bleeding during the cycle, regular or irregular menstrual cycles) and dysmenorrhea. Also, the difference in menstrual cycle characteristics between covid positive and negative healthcare professionals is investigated.