Grenadian scientists promote a pioneering study on menstruation
A research team made up of researchers from the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada and the University of Granada is conducting a pioneering study on menstrual blood. Today, there is hardly any reliable data on the content of the flow that women of childbearing age produce and release every 28 days - more or less - through their vaginas. For Enriqueta Barranco and Olga Ocón, gynecologists and co-managers of this innovative study, the reasons for this ignorance are twofold: firstly, the lack of interest that, in general, arouse many feminine issues in science and, secondly, the difficulty to testing blood that is routinely collected with disposable absorbent devices such as pads and tampons. In recent years, two things have changed: on the one hand, say the professors of the Faculty of Medicine, in the consultations the complaints of women who claim to experience extraordinarily abundant and prolonged periods are heard more and more; on the other, the extension in the use of the menstrual cup, a device that replaces absorbents and allows the menstruation to be fully and cleanly collected.
Through social networks, the researchers have recruited more than a hundred volunteers from all over Spain who have promised to save and send their menstrual blood to the Biobank of the Andalusian Public Health System, located in the Biomedical Research Center of the Campus Tecnológico de la Salud and with headquarters in Granada hospitals. The collection of samples began in early May and the study will last for six months.
The investigation comprises several aspects. On the one hand, the volume of menstruation will be measured. In that sense, explained Dr. Ocón, there are indications that indeed, women, regardless of their age, bleed more now than before. According to the Spanish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the normal average volume is 80 cubic centimeters throughout all the days of the period, and the World Health Organization calculates it at 100 cc, but a study carried out in 2013 among users of pads and tampons put it at 175 cc, while a pilot study conducted by this same team in menstrual cup users resulted in an average of 200 cc.
Second, its composition and, specifically, the possible presence of chemicals will be analyzed. For these gynecologists, a hypothesis that could explain the increase in bleeding is the action of organic pollutants that behave as endocrine disruptors: these are chemicals present in our environment -plastics and derivatives, detergents, pesticides or cosmetics, among others- that induce hormonal alterations in the body. UGR professor Nicolás Olea, Scientific Director of ibs.GRANADA, leads one of the most active groups in Europe in the study of these compounds, among which are phthalates -which are added to plastics to give them flexibility- , parabens - used to extend the shelf life of some cosmetics and prevent them from being contaminated by fungi and other germs - or benzophenones, present in ultraviolet filters.
“There are multiple epidemiological studies that link exposure to these substances with specific health risks, including infertility or cancer, although the evidence is not as strong in the case of chronic exposures to low doses and multiple substances, so they are necessary more studies that provide more robust evidence ”, explains Olga Ocón. For this reason, Dr. Olea and his team will take a very active part in this research sponsored by the Antonio Chamorro-Alejandro Otero Research Chair of the UGR.
Epidemiological survey
The researchers are very grateful to the volunteers, who, in addition to taking the trouble to selflessly collect and store menstruation for several days, will have to respond to an exhaustive epidemiological survey on lifestyle, diet and environment. The only condition is that they are healthy women and that they do not use hormonal contraceptives. Although they have received offers from abroad, they have been rejected for logistical reasons. "Women have felt very useful, because it is a problem that they live day by day and for which they are hardly ever asked," says Barranco.
The gynecologists also hope to recruit volunteers in Granada and its surroundings who are willing to undergo a peripheral blood extraction at their health center, to be able to compare it with menstrual blood.
Apart from the discomfort, a too abundant and prolonged period favors iron deficiency and anemia, problems that many women of childbearing age present and that fundamentally translates into fatigue. In 90% of cases, women who report heavy and painful bleeding are prescribed hormonal contraceptives, which eliminate the menstrual period. "It is a medicalization of the life of women," laments Barranco.
