Stress caused by the pandemic affected ovulation in women, study shows

The stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic has affected the ovulation of women, even if imperceptibly, reveals a study from the University of British Columbia, Canada, presented during the last annual meeting of the American Society of Endocrinology.

According to the authors, this is the first evidence of ovulatory disorders without changes in cycle duration associated with the stress caused by the health emergency.

To reach the conclusion, the scientists compared data from two similar surveys, carried out thirteen years apart: one conducted between 2006 and 2008 with 301 women and another that evaluated 112 volunteers during the pandemic.

Both followed patients of similar profiles, ages 19 to 35, who were not taking any hormonal contraceptives.

In addition to collecting data on hormone levels and basal temperature, they also completed questionnaires about general health, lifestyle and a menstrual cycle diary.

Although they felt no change in their bleeding, two-thirds of women assessed in the pandemic were not ovulating normally – up from just 10% in the first study.

Without the woman realizing it, there was a change in progesterone levels, which led to cycles with no egg release or with a shorter phase after ovulation, which interferes with pregnancy. These patients also had higher levels of anxiety, depression, sleep problems and headaches.

“Although they are preliminary data, they are very relevant because it is known that stress can affect ovulation”, observes gynecologist Sérgio Podgaec, from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. So much so that this also happens in other situations where the body is exhausted, including excessive physical activity in high-performance athletes, for example.

All this can explain difficulties in getting pregnant in those who were trying and were not successful in recent months.

The good news is that these changes are reversible if there is no more serious dysfunction behind the problem.