Scientific papers reporting short and long-term effects of Covid-19 on menstruation, menarche and menopause, fertility, genital tumours, uterovaginal prolapse, female sexual function, urinary and vulval disorders, endometriosis and other miscellaneous gynaecological problems. Primary sources only. Updated regularly. Most recent first. Curated by Jim Thornton, Keelin O’Donoghue & Kate Walker.

For Covid-19 in pregnancy (click here), indirect effects on pregnancy (click here), news reports (click here) and effects of Covid-19 vaccines (click here).

8 March – GP 25 added

Gynae paper 25 – no effect of vaccination in Israel

From the IVF units, Shamir, Sheba, and Herzliya Medical Centres, Tel Aviv (click here or paper). COVID-19 mRNA vaccine did not affect the ovarian response or pregnancy rates. Citation: Avraham S, Kedem A, Zur H, Youngster M, Yaakov O, Yerushalmi GM, Gat I, Gidoni Y, Hochberg A, Baum M, Hourvitz A, Maman E, COVID-19 Vaccination and Infertility Treatment Outcomes, Fertility and Sterility (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2022.02.025.

20 February – GP 24 added

Gynae paper 24 – case of ovarian vein thrombosis in USA

From Reading Hospital Tower Health, Reading (click here or study). Citation: DeBoer RE, Oladunjoye OO, Herb R. Right Ovarian Vein Thrombosis in the Setting of COVID-19 Infection. Cureus. 2021 Jan 20;13(1):e12796. doi: 10.7759/cureus.12796. PMID: 33628665; PMCID: PMC7893676.

6 February – GP 23 added

Gynae paper 23 – indirect effect of the pandemic on menstruation

1159 women from Andorra, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA, using the Daysy fertility device from 1 January to 30 June, in both 2019 and 2020 (click here or paper). Citation: Haile L, van de Roemer N, Gemzell-Danielsson K, Perelló Capó J, Lete Lasa I, Vannuccini S, Koch MC, Hildebrandt T, Calaf J. The global pandemic and changes in women’s reproductive health: an observational study. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2022 Jan 18:1-5. doi: 10.1080/13625187.2021.2024161. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35040737.

26 January 2022 – GP 16 to 22 added. GP 13 transferred to vaccines & fertility (click here)

Gynae paper 22 – vaccine response in 36 women with ovarian cancer

Centres not reported, but approved by the research ethics committee of Alexandra Hospital, Athens, Greece (click here or paper). Citation: Liontos, M.; Terpos, E.; Markellos, C.; Zagouri, F.; Briasoulis, A.; Katsiana, I.; Skafida, E.; Fiste, O.; Kunadis, E.; Andrikopoulou, A.; Kaparelou, M.; Koutsoukos, K.; Gavriatopoulou, M.; Kastritis, E.; Trougakos, I.P.; Dimopoulos, M.-A. Immunological Response to COVID-19 Vaccination in Ovarian Cancer Patients Receiving PARP Inhibitors. Vaccines 2021, 9, 1148. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9101148

Gynae paper 21 – 46 cases from Argentina

Women, aged 21–41, undergoing assisted reproductive technology procedures between November 2020 and April 2021 at the following clinics; PREGNA Medicina Reproductiva, IVI Buenos Aires, Fertilis, and InVitro, all in Buenos Aires (click here or paper). Citation: Herrero Y, Pascuali N, Velázquez C, Oubiña G, Hauk V, de Zúñiga I, Peña MG, Martínez G, Lavolpe M, Veiga F, Neuspiller F, Abramovich D, Scotti L, Parborell F. SARS-CoV-2 infection negatively affects ovarian function in ART patients. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2022 Jan 1;1868(1):166295. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166295. Epub 2021 Oct 27. PMID: 34718118; PMCID: PMC8550892. – Control study

Gynae paper 20 – 9 couples from Israel

Seven with female partner covid, and two with male partner, teated at Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, both before the pandemic and after infection (click here or paper). Citation: Orvieto R, Segev-Zahav A, Aizer A. Does COVID-19 infection influence patients’ performance during IVF-ET cycle?: an observational study. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2021 Oct;37(10):895-897. doi: 10.1080/09513590.2021.1918080. Epub 2021 May 11. PMID: 33974475.

Gynae paper 19 – case report from Turkey

From author affiliations the Atasehir Memorial IVF Center, Istanbul (click here or paper). Citation: Demirel C, Tulek F, Celik HG, Donmez E, Tuysuz G, Gökcan B. Failure to Detect Viral RNA in Follicular Fluid Aspirates from a SARS-CoV-2-Positive Woman. Reprod Sci. 2021 Aug;28(8):2144-2146. doi: 10.1007/s43032-021-00502-9. Epub 2021 Feb 22. PMID: 33616884; PMCID: PMC7899067.

Gynae paper 18 – 2 case reports from Spain

From author affiliations the Clinica EUGIN, Carrer de Balmes 236, Barcelona (click here or paper). Citation: Barragan M, Guillén JJ, Martin-Palomino N, Rodriguez A, Vassena R. Undetectable viral RNA in oocytes from SARS-CoV-2 positive women. Hum Reprod. 2021 Jan 25;36(2):390-394. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deaa284. PMID: 32998162; PMCID: PMC7543480.

Gynae paper 18 – 9 cases from Israel

See vaccination source 23 here.

Gynae paper 17 – 14 cases from France

From the ART unit of Tenon Hospital, Paris, between June and December 2020 (click here or paper). Citation: Kolanska K, Hours A, Jonquière L, Mathieu d’Argent E, Dabi Y, Dupont C, Touboul C, Antoine JM, Chabbert-Buffet N, Daraï E. Mild COVID-19 infection does not alter the ovarian reserve in women treated with ART. Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Dec;43(6):1117-1121. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.09.001. Epub 2021 Sep 10. PMID: 34711516; PMCID: PMC8432972.

Gynae paper 16 – 70 cases from China

From the Reproductive Medicine Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology between May 2020 and February 2021 (click here or paper). Citation: Wang M, Yang Q, Ren X, Hu J, Li Z, Long R, Xi Q, Zhu L, Jin L. Investigating the impact of asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection on female fertility and in vitro fertilization outcomes: A retrospective cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Aug;38:101013. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101013. Epub 2021 Jul 6. PMID: 34250457; PMCID: PMC8259363.

25 January 2022 – GP 15 added

Gynae paper 15 – 78 cases from China

Women of reproductive age with Covid between January 28 and March 8, 2020 from Tongji Hospital in Wuhan (click here or paper). Citation: Ding T, Wang T, Zhang J, Cui P, Chen Z, Zhou S, Yuan S, Ma W, Zhang M, Rong Y, Chang J, Miao X, Ma X, Wang S. Analysis of Ovarian Injury Associated With COVID-19 Disease in Reproductive-Aged Women in Wuhan, China: An Observational Study. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Mar 19;8:635255. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.635255. PMID: 33816526; PMCID: PMC8017139.

7 January 2022 – GP 14 added

Gynae paper 14 – vaccination & menstrual cycle length

US resident participants enrolled in the fertility-awareness application “Natural Cycles”, who recorded menstrual cycle data from October 2020 to September 2021, and were vaccinated between December 2020 and July 2021, and an unvaccinated control group (click here or paper). Citation: Edelman, Alison MD, MPH; Boniface, Emily R. MPH; Benhar, Eleonora PhD; Han, Leo MD, MPH; Matteson, Kristen A. MD, MPH; Favaro, Carlotta PhD; Pearson, Jack T. PhD; Darney, Blair G. PhD, MPH Association Between Menstrual Cycle Length and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination, Obstetrics & Gynecology: January 5, 2022 – Volume – Issue – 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004695 doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004695

23 December – GP 13 added

Gynae paper 13 – no effect of mRNA vaccine on AMH levels

129 women given two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (click here or paper). Citation: Mohr-Sasson A, Haas J, Abuhasira S, Sivan M, Amdurski HD, Dadon T, Blumenfeld S, Derazne E, Hemi R, Orvieto R, Afek A, Rabinovici J. The effect of Covid-19 mRNA vaccine on serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels. Hum Reprod. 2021 Dec 22:deab282. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deab282. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34935913. 26 January update – transferred to Covid-19 vaccines, pregnancy & fertility, source 95 (click here).

13 December – GP 12 added

Gynae paper 12 – 8,538 vaccinated women

Volunteers participating in The Covid-19 Pandemic and Women’s Reproductive Health registry (click here or paper). Citation: Alexandra Alvergne, Gabriella Kountourides, Austin Argentieri, Lisa Agyen, Natalie Rogers, Dawn Knight, Gemma C Sharp, Jacqueline A Maybin , Zuzanna Olszewska. COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual cycle changes: A United Kingdom (UK) retrospective case-control study. MedRxiv posted December 6, 2021

30 November – GP 10 and 11 added

Gynae paper 11 – RCT of estadiol Rx in post menopausal women with Covid in India

Recruited at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida, from September 10 to December 31, 2020 (click here or paper). Citation: Seth S, Sharma R, Mishra P, Solanki HK, Singh M, Singh M. Role of Short-Term Estradiol Supplementation in Symptomatic Postmenopausal COVID-19 Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Midlife Health. 2021 Jul-Sep;12(3):211-218. doi: 10.4103/jmh.JMH_57_21. Epub 2021 Oct 16. PMID: 34759703; PMCID: PMC8569453.

Gynae paper 10 – 14 cases undergoing ART in France

From Tenon Hospital, Paris (click here or paper). Citation: Kolanska K, Hours A, Jonquière L, Mathieu d’Argent E, Dabi Y, Dupont C, Touboul C, Antoine JM, Chabbert-Buffet N, Daraï E. Mild COVID-19 infection does not alter the ovarian reserve in women treated with ART. Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Sep 10:S1472-6483(21)00431-4. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.09.001. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34711516; PMCID: PMC8432972.

18 November – GP 8 and 9 added

Gynae paper 9 – case report (ectopic & Covid) from USA

From University of Miami, Health Systems, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida (click here or paper). Citation: Millan NM, Morano J, Florez L, Carugno J, Medina CA. Management of tubal ectopic pregnancy with methotrexate in the setting of symptomatic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A case report. Facts Views Vis Obgyn. 2021 Sep;13(3):277-281. doi: 10.52054/FVVO.13.3.030. PMID: 34555882.

Gynae paper 8 – Case report (ectopic & Covid) from Japan

From Gifu Prefectural Tajimi Hospital (click here or paper). Citation: Hayashi S, Takeda A. Gasless laparoendoscopic single-site surgery for management of unruptured tubal pregnancy in a woman with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia after administration of remdesivir and casirivimab-imdevimab: A case report. Case Rep Womens Health. 2022 Jan;33:e00368. doi: 10.1016/j.crwh.2021.e00368. Epub 2021 Nov 11. PMID: 34786352; PMCID: PMC8580554.

9 November – GP 7 added

Gynae paper 7 – Endometriosis survey from Italy

468 women diagnosed with endometriosis at Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, and surveyed in May 2020 (click here or paper). Citation: Arena A, Orsini B, Degli Esposti E, Raimondo D, Lenzi J, Verrelli L, Iodice R, Casadio P, Seracchioli R. Effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on women affected by endometriosis: a large cross-sectional online survey. Ann Med. 2021 Dec;53(1):1924-1934. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2021.1991589. PMID: 34714186; PMCID: PMC8567944.

1 November 2021

Gynae paper 6 – 507 women with, & 520 without, endometriosis in Iran

No difference in rates or severity of Covid (click here or paper). A case–control study at Pars general hospital, Tehran, from May 21st to July 3rd, 2020. Citation: Moazzami B, Chaichian S, Samie S, Zolbin MM, Jesmi F, Akhlaghdoust M, Pishkuhi MA, Mirshafiei ZS, Khalilzadeh F, Safari D. Does endometriosis increase susceptibility to COVID-19 infections? A case-control study in women of reproductive age. BMC Womens Health. 2021 Mar 22;21(1):119. doi: 10.1186/s12905-021-01270-z. PMID: 33752656; PMCID: PMC7983080.

Gynae paper 5 – Haemothorax after IVF & Covid

From Conceber Centro de Medicina Reprodutiva, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil (click here or paper). Citation: Rahal D, Kozlowski IF, Rosa VBD, Schuffner A. Hemothorax after oocyte retrieval in a patient with a history of COVID-19: a case report. JBRA Assist Reprod. 2021 Oct 4;25(4):647-649. doi: 10.5935/1518-0557.20210043. PMID: 34415132; PMCID: PMC8489828.

Gynae paper 4 – Covid, menopause & hormone therapy

Covid was more common among postmenopausal women and, within the latter group, more common among those taking menopausal hormone therapy (click here or paper). Women using the “Zoe” Covid Symptom Study app. Citation: Costeira R, Lee KA, Murray B, Christiansen C, Castillo-Fernandez J, Ni Lochlainn M, et al. (2021) Estrogen and COVID-19 symptoms: Associations in women from the COVID Symptom Study. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0257051. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257051

Gynae paper 3 – 237 women with Covid from China

Women aged 18 to 45 with confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, from 19 January to 1 April 2020 (click here or paper). Citation: Li K, Chen G, Hou H, Liao Q, Chen J, Bai H, Lee S, Wang C, Li H, Cheng L, Ai J. Analysis of sex hormones and menstruation in COVID-19 women of child-bearing age. Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Jan;42(1):260-267. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2020.09.020. Epub 2020 Sep 29. PMID: 33288478; PMCID: PMC7522626.

Gynae paper 2 – Mobile app ovulation & menstruation

No overall changes before and during pandemic in 214,426 cycles from 18,076 app users, primarily from Great Britain (29.3%) and the United States (22.6%) (click here or paper). Women using the “Natural Cycles” mobile app. Citation: Nguyen BT, Pang RD, Nelson AL, Pearson JT, Benhar Noccioli E, Reissner HR, Kraker von Schwarzenfeld A, Acuna J. Detecting variations in ovulation and menstruation during the COVID-19 pandemic, using real-world mobile app data. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 20;16(10):e0258314. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258314. PMID: 34669726; PMCID: PMC8528316.

Gynae paper 1 – Menstrual symptoms in 127 self-selected women with Covid

From the Arizona CoVHORT study (click here or paper). Citation: Khan SM, Shilen A, Heslin KM, Ishimwe P, Allen AM, Jacobs ET, Farland LV. SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent changes in the menstrual cycle among participants in the Arizona CoVHORT Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Sep 20:S0002-9378(21)01044-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.09.016. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34555320; PMCID: PMC8452349.

Jim Thornton, Keelin O’Donoghue & Kate Walker