Virginia Research Day 2025

Medical Student Research Clinical

12 The Pill’s Effect: Comparing Menstrual Symptom Profiles in Oral Contraceptive Users and Non-Users

Brooke Nelson; Benita Luke; Rachel Thomas; Hannah Kasper; Bradley Kasper; Carrie Champine, DO; Cathy Callahan, MD Corresponding author: bnelson@vcom.edu

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia Campus

Oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) are among the most used forms of contraception in the United States, with a significant impact on not only fertility but also menstrual cycle regularity and symptom management. While OCPs are often prescribed to relieve undesirable menstrual symptoms, the extent of these effects varies greatly across the female population and therefore requires additional investigation. The goal of this study was to compare and investigate self reported menstrual symptoms between OCP users and non-users. To begin this study, fifty-three reproductive-aged females (ages 18-31) were recruited from VCOM Virginia and the Bluefield College Master of Biomedical Sciences program. All participants were screened to ensure regularity of menstrual cycles, lack of previous reproductive pathology,

and use of either OCPs or non-medical contraceptive methods. Participants were then blinded and given the “Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire”; a validated symptom survey published by Chesney & Tasto in 1975 that has been cited over two hundred times in academic writings. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions, most starting with “I feel...”, followed by a specific menstrual symptom. Participants responded to each question with either never, rarely, sometimes, often, or always, which was later corresponded to a numerical value (1-5) for statistical analysis. Upon analysis of the results, there was found to be a statistically significant difference between OCP users and non-users for 6 of the 25 questions. These questions included topics of depression and abdominal pain before their period, weakness,

dizziness, breast pain, and use of anti-inflammatory medications during their period, and an overall lack of interest in activity in the first day or so of starting their period. Across all of these questions, non-OCP users reported statistically more frequent negative symptoms than did their OCP-using counterparts. Results from this study, therefore, encourage the continued use of OCPs in a therapeutic manner for dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome. Additionally, these results call to question the mechanism by which these changes occur to the menstrual cycle and if there are similar impacts across other forms of birth control. This study was approved by VCOM-IRB, protocol number 2063743-5.

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