Several UK women complained of premature menopause after suffering from COVID-19. This was reported by the Daily Mail.
Don Knight from Somerset contracted the coronavirus in March when she returned from a trip to Thailand. In addition to the usual symptoms, the 46-year-old woman did not have critical days.
“My symptoms of COVID-19 were so terrible and lasted for months, because of which I could hardly get up from the couch, so the lack of menstruation was the least of my problems,” – admitted the newspaper interlocutor.
The woman felt weakness, confusion for several months, which are considered signs of “protracted COVID-19”.
In June, Knight experienced an aggravation of her symptoms: her pulse quickened and fever in her arms and legs developed, and she consulted a doctor. As a result, it turned out that the level of the patient’s reproductive hormones – estrogen, progesterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) – was at the “postmenopausal” level.
The doctor stated that the woman had gone through menopause, which she was very surprised, so she had no prerequisites for this.
A similar incident occurred with 47-year-old Anna Maria Grieve from Shotts. She suffered the coronavirus in March. She had a cough, shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell, and a month later she did not have her period, although she was pregnant just a year ago. She has had symptoms of coronavirus infection for several months.
In May, scientists from China published a scientific paper in which they reported that the coronavirus can infect the ovaries, uterus, placenta and other organs of the female reproductive system, since the ACE2 protein is present on the surface of their cells – the gateway for the pathogen. According to the authors, SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to lead to infertility. However, this is still only a hypothesis. It is necessary to monitor the health of women who have recovered, as well as pregnant women, in order to draw more accurate conclusions.