Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Health Professionals’ Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Dysmenorrhea, and Premenstrual Syndrome Experiences

Büşra Gök; Şengül Yaman Sözbir; Ayten Şentürk Erenel

doi:10.31067/acusaglik.1835268

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Health Professionals’ Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Dysmenorrhea, and Premenstrual Syndrome Experiences

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to determine if abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual syndrome experiences changed in female health professionals who worked in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, to find out the direction of the change, and to determine the effect size on this change. Methods: This descriptive and relational study was conducted with 194 female health professionals who actively worked in a health institution during the pandemic process. Data were collected online using the Participant Information Form and the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale. The McNemar Test, the Odds Ratio, the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, the Partial Eta Squared Analysis, the Paired Sample T Test, and the Repeated Measures d Coefficient were used for data analysis. Results: The dysmenorrhea (OR: 28.462 [95% CI: 9.563-84.707]), the abnormal uterine bleeding (OR: 25.490 [95% CI: 10.046-64.678]), and the PMS (OR: 22.708 [95% CI: 7.891-65.348]) were found to increase during the pandemic. The number of people who had increased PMS severity was found to increase during the pandemic, and the effect size of the pandemic on this increase was very high (η2:12.035). Conclusions: The risk of increase during the pandemic was 28.5 times more for dysmenorrhea, 25.5 times more for abnormal uterine bleeding, and 23 times more for PMS in female health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, measures should be taken for the effective management of menstrual problems of female health professionals who take active roles in the management of massive crises like the pandemic to increase their quality of life and work success.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval was obtained prior to the commencement of the study through the Tarsus University Ethics Committee (dated 28/07/2021 and numbered 2021/31).

Thanks

The authors gratefully acknowledge participants who took part in this study.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Obstetrics and Gynocology Nursing

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Büşra Gök ^*
0000-0002-5630-8368
Türkiye

Şengül Yaman Sözbir
0000-0001-9870-5161
Türkiye

Ayten Şentürk Erenel
0000-0002-0841-2099
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 3, 2026

Submission Date

December 3, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 30, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 1970 Volume: 17 Number: January, February, March 2026

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31067/acusaglik.1835268

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA93JX48CG

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

EndNote

Gök B, Yaman Sözbir Ş, Şentürk Erenel A (March 1, 2026) Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Health Professionals’ Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Dysmenorrhea, and Premenstrual Syndrome Experiences. Acıbadem Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 17 January, February, March 2026