Are you experiencing heavy menstrual periods, irregular or absent periods, or polyps/fibroids? Research has found many women with chronic kidney disease (CKD) struggle with menstrual irregularities. Learn more about what scientists have learned about female reproductive health and CKD.* 

What they did

Ph.D. student Chantal L. Rytz, MS, and colleagues from the University of Calgary in Canada, analyzed 46 research studies concerning reproductive health in 5,636 women with CKD. The studies looked at multiple stages of kidney disease, including nondialysis-dependent/non-kidney transplant CKD, dialysis-dependent CKD, and kidney transplantation, along with menstrual patterns, age of menarche (first period), and/or menopause. 

What they found

When researchers compared CKD patients’ data with statistics from the general population of women without CKD, they discovered more differences than similarities. 

“Although our findings indicate that the pooled average age of menarche of 13 years is similar to the general population,” Rytz and her colleagues wrote, “the pooled average age of menopause of 47 years and the reproductive lifespan of 32 years are considerably shorter.”

They also found that: 

• Between 19% and 47% of patients on hemodialysis had menstrual abnormalities,
• 75% of peritoneal dialysis patients had menstrual abnormalities, and
• Patients with a kidney transplant had a 7% to 30% decline in menstrual abnormalities. 

What it means

The results of this analysis indicate that reproductive health issues are a concern for females with CKD. “These sex-specific factors of women are associated with cardiovascular (heart) and bone health, as well as malignancy (cancer) risk in the general population; whether these same associations exist in the CKD population is unknown,” Rytz and colleagues wrote. They urge researchers to strive to fill the gap in this area of women’s healthcare. 

*Keenan, Julie S. (2022, December 16). Women with CKD experience menstrual abnormalities, shorter reproductive lifespans. (2022, December 16). Healio. https://www.healio.com/news/nephrology/20221216/women-with-ckd-experience-menstrual-abnormalities-shorter-reproductive-lifespans