Overview

• The Nature Communications paper reports longer, heavier, more painful periods and a higher risk of abnormal uterine bleeding in patients with long COVID.
• Symptoms frequently intensify during premenstrual and proliferative phases of the cycle, notably fatigue, headaches and muscle pain.
• Findings draw on a survey of 12,187 women in the UK, a three-month follow-up of 54 patients with long COVID, and analyses of blood and endometrial samples.
• Tissue analysis identified clusters of immune cells in the endometrium, supporting an inflammatory hypothesis, while no ovarian hormone abnormalities were detected.
• Authors call for integrating menstrual-cycle measures into biomarkers and for women-specific therapies, noting long COVID affects an estimated 3–7% globally and about 2.7 million people in France, with women at higher risk.