The following is a summary of “Postmenopausal bleeding after COVID-19 vaccination,” published in the January 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Kauffman et al.
This study contributes to the evolving understanding of the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on menstrual health, mainly focusing on postmenopausal individuals.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess trends in incident postmenopausal bleeding diagnoses before and after the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and elucidate cases of new-onset postmenopausal bleeding associated with vaccination.
Monthly population-level cohorts from Kaiser Permanente Northwest, consisting of females aged ≥45 years, were analyzed for postmenopausal bleeding incidence. Segmented regression analysis was employed to estimate changes in diagnoses from (2018 to 2021), stratified by COVID-19 vaccination status in 2021. The study investigated postmenopausal bleeding within 60 days of COVID-19 vaccination, analyzing vaccination details, diagnostic procedures, and bleeding causes.
The results showed 75,530 to 82,693 individuals, with no statistically significant difference in postmenopausal bleeding diagnosis observed before and after the COVID-19 vaccine introduction. Out of 104 cases diagnosed within 60 days post-vaccination, 76% were confirmed as postvaccination postmenopausal bleeding. The median time from vaccination to bleeding onset was 21 days. Among cases with a provider-attributed etiology, common causes included uterine or cervical lesions, hormone replacement therapy, and proliferative endometrium. Cases without a clear etiology did not show a statistically significant clustering of postmenopausal bleeding onset following vaccination.
They concluded that the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines was not associated with an increased incidence of postmenopausal bleeding diagnosis within this integrated health system.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002937823006130