Research shows menstrual irregularities can reveal heart disease

The causes of menstrual irregularities are very different. This is a symptom of certain abnormalities in the female body. However, it turns out that they may be a factor by which it will be possible to predict the occurrence of heart disease.
Menstrual disorders can be caused, among other things, by high physical exertion, severe stress, or intense weight loss. However, health problems can also be the cause. Irregular periods may be associated with hormonal disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). They also reflect the overall health of a woman. In addition, abnormal estrogen levels can affect the vascular system, leading to atherosclerotic changes in the walls of blood vessels and circulatory disorders and, as a result, to an increased risk of heart disease.

Menstrual irregularities and heart disease

In an article for BMC Medicine, Kelvin Okot, Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute for Medical Research at the University of Birmingham in the UK, and other researchers note that menstrual cycle characteristics are a factor that may contribute to adverse outcomes associated with cardiovascular disease in women. The researchers conducted a study that tested the relationship between irregular menstrual cycles and women’s cardiac outcomes. The researchers wanted to raise awareness of the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and long-term risk of cardiometabolic disease.

To do this, they used the Health Improvement Network database, from which they obtained data for 1995-2021. The full study included 704,743 women, including 215,378 with a history of irregular menstrual cycles and 36,947 with a history of frequent or infrequent menstrual cycles. A control group of women with normal menstrual cycles was also created. The average age of women in both groups was approximately 27 years. The researchers looked at two factors: regularity and frequency of menstrual cycles. The observation lasted 26 years - during it, scientists recorded 20,605 cases of cardiovascular diseases in patients from the study group.

What did the results of the study show?

The results of the study showed that women whose menstrual cycles were regular had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. on these with menstrual irregularities, this risk was highermay result, among other things:

• hypertension,

• heart failure,

• cardiac ischemia,

• diabetes mellitus type 2.

The researchers found the strongest associations with cardiometabolic disorders in women who had non-standard patterns of menstrual cycle frequency.

The findings of a study by British scientists show that the menstrual cycle can be used as a tool to identify the risk of heart disease in women. The authors of the study believe that the non-standard nature of the menstrual cycle can affect a woman’s health, which means that the history of the menstrual cycle should be considered as an additional parameter in assessing the overall health of a woman. Irregular menstruation may be subject to research due to potential risk factors. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends taking into account the history of the menstrual cycle in order to improve the early detection of potentially adverse health changes.