Heavy and painful periods linked to lower GCSE grades and attendance, new study finds
As over 5 million students await their GCSE results, researchers have conducted the most robust research to date on how periods impact exam results.
A new study published today [19 August] has found that heavy periods and period pain in teenage girls are linked to lower GCSE grades and more time off school.
The study, led by the University of Bristol working with the University of Exeter, aimed to address a gap in research about the impact of periods on educational attainment.
Published in npj Science of Learning, the study examined data from 2,698 girls aged 13 to 16 in the Children of the 90s study that was linked to school attendance and GCSE exam results from the Department for Education.
The study, funded by Wellcome, found that more than a third of girls (36 per cent) reported experiencing heavy or prolonged bleeding and that this group missed 1.7 additional days of school per year and had 27 per cent lower chance of achieving five GCSE passes on average. More than half of girls (56 per cent) reported menstrual pain, which was associated with missing 1.2 additional days of school per year and 16 per cent lower chance of achieving five GCSE passes. Additionally, girls who experienced heavy or prolonged bleeding and menstrual pain were more likely to be persistently absent from school.
The authors suggest that the missed school days due to menstrual symptoms are unlikely to be the only reason for the impact of menstrual symptoms on GCSE results. Instead, they say this is likely to align with existing research showing how symptoms can impact concentration at school.
Gemma Sawyer, PhD student at the University of Bristol, who conducted the research, said: “Our large-scale study provides the most convincing evidence to date that menstrual symptoms are associated with lower attendance and attainment. This work supports what young people have reported struggling with in previous studies.
“More education and support may help improve the menstrual health of adolescents and reduce inequalities in education outcomes.”
The researchers found the link between menstrual symptoms and education applied while controlling for several factors, including maternal education, financial difficulties, ethnicity, and age of starting menstruation.
The authors discussed their findings with a focus group of teenage girls as part of the research, who shared their personal challenges, including difficulty focusing while on their period, restricted toilet access, embarrassment and stigma, and insufficient period product provision.
Gemma Sharp, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Exeter, who supervised the research, said: “We know from previous research that heavy and painful periods can impact attendance and concentration, and this study tells us that there’s also a link with attainment. It’s clear that people are capable of functioning at a high level regardless of their cycle, but we need a society that’s better set up to support them, particularly if they are experiencing heavy bleeding and pain.”
A team of researchers, led by Professor Gemma Sharp, has secured $4.5 million in funding from Wellcome Leap, obtained with support from regional university alliance, GW4. It will fund new research to tackle the widespread and often overlooked issue of heavy menstrual bleeding in women.
Professor Sharp will use data from Bristol’s Children of the 90s and Born in Bradford cohorts to investigate the biological factors underlying heavy bleeding. This research forms part of the $50 million Missed Vital Sign programme — a global initiative aimed at earlier identification of heavy menstrual bleeding and the development of faster, more personalised care for women around the world.
Paper
‘Associations of adolescent menstrual symptoms with school absences and educational attainment: analysis of a prospective cohort study’ by Gemma Sawyer et al. in npj Science of Learning [open access]
