A major new research project aiming to transform care for women with heavy periods is to create the world's largest menstrual fluid biobank. The CycleTrack study hopes to improve understanding of heavy menstrual bleeding and related conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, helping speed up diagnosis and treatment for millions of women. Led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Exeter, it will collect real-time health data and menstrual fluid samples from thousands of women across the UK.
Professor Gemma Sharp said the study was going to be "a real game changer" for menstrual health research and could cut waiting times for effective treatment. Supercars seized ahead of wedding after M5 incident Autistic DJ befriended at festival given 'dream' set Drought leaves 'barely any apples' to make cider As part of the study, researchers are working with women who have personal experience of heavy periods. Maria Lewis, 34, from Weston-super-Mare, has lived with heavy menstrual bleeding since she first started menstruating and was diagnosed with endometriosis last year.
She has taken part in the Children of the 90s, external study since childhood and was keen to support the latest research. Describing the impact of her condition, she said: "It's horrific. I'm in pain every day." Although she cannot take part in the menstrual fluid collection because she takes hormonal contraception to manage her symptoms and no longer menstruates, she believes the research could help improve understanding of conditions affecting women.
She said: "Absolutely, it needs more of a platform and a louder voice." Heavy menstrual bleeding, sometimes known as HMB, affects up to half of women worldwide and can have a significant impact on physical, emotional and social wellbeing. Symptoms can include periods lasting more than seven days, the need to change sanitary protection every one to two hours, passing large blood clots and signs of iron deficiency such as fatigue and dizziness. Researchers say menstrual health remains poorly understood despite being a key indicator of overall health, partly because of a lack of high-quality data.
Recent studies have suggested heavy periods can affect many aspects of daily life, external, including educational attainment and school attendance. The study will recruit participants from two long-running birth cohort studies: Children of the 90s in south-west England and Born in Bradford in West Yorkshire. Thousands of volunteers will use a specialist app and detailed questionnaires to record symptoms, sleep, mood, energy levels and overall wellbeing.
Participants will also provide menstrual fluid samples over three menstrual cycles using specially designed period pads. By linking those samples with long-term health information and genetic data already held by the cohort studies, researchers hope to uncover biological signals associated with heavy menstrual bleeding. They believe the findings could lead to earlier diagnosis, more personalised treatment plans and new methods of identifying health risks linked to heavy periods, including iron deficiency.
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