Europa Wire
Researchers in Bradford hope up to 3,000 women in the district will take part in a major study on periods and the menstrual cycle. The CycleTrack project, run by health research organisation Born in Bradford (BiB), aims to determine why some women experience more difficult periods than others and how they can receive faster diagnoses and more effective treatment. It will include women aged 18 and over who experience normal periods, as well as those living with pain, heavy bleeding and conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids.
BiB's Salma Chopdat said: "The idea really came from recognising that menstrual health has been overlooked for a very long time in research and clinical practice." Chopdat, a BiB community research coordinator, said: "Periods have a huge impact on everyday life, whether that's going to work, going to school, getting on with everyday things, socialising, exercising... "So it does have a big impact on your life. "We'd like 3,000 women to take part, that's including the 18-year-olds as well.
"Obviously we're still at the inception phase at the moment, we're still at the very early stages of sending the questionnaires out. "Then there will be the testing and everything that goes along with any research." Menstruation is defined by the NHS as the normal monthly shedding of the lining of the uterus that results in vaginal bleeding. "We still don't know enough about why some women experience heavy periods and as a society we don't like talking about menstruation," Chopdat said.
Any BiB participant aged 18 or over who currently has, or has previously had, periods is invited to join the study. BiB is an internationally recognised research programme that tracks the health and development of more than 30,000 Bradford children and their families. Chopdat said: "If you are unsure whether you are a Born in Bradford participant, you can still fill in the form and the research team will come back to you if you are eligible to take part." In return for taking part, participants will receive a £10 voucher.
Women who still have periods can also take part in a second stage of the study, where their menstrual cycle will be tracked over three months. CycleTrack is a collaboration between BiB and the universities of Exeter and Bristol. It is part of a $50m US-backed programme aimed at reducing the time women experience heavy menstrual bleeding from five years to five months through better measurement, diagnosis and treatment.
Source: BBC
