Apple research confirms that women have seizures during menstruation

Apple has added and released Physiological Tracking to the iOS Health app Clinical trials on women’s health Currently, the Apple Women’s Health Study team has some preliminary data confirming that menstruating people around the world have a surprisingly diverse range of menstrual symptoms.

The survey results were from the first 10,000 participants who registered for the survey using the iPhone Research app and provided demographic data. Of that number, 6,141 participants recorded menstrual symptoms, with abdominal cramps (83%), bloating (63%), and malaise (61%) being the most commonly followed. did. Or, basically, anyone who has had a period can tell a doctor just by asking. About half of the participants also reported acne, headaches, mood swings, change in appetite, back pain, and tenderness in the breasts. Rare symptoms include diarrhea, sleep changes, constipation, nausea, burning, and ovulation pain.

One point was that the frequency of symptoms was almost universal, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or geographic location. Participants reported similar numbers of seizures, bloating, and malaise as the most frequent symptoms. Therefore, there is solid evidence that these symptoms can affect people during menstruation.

These discoveries may seem ridiculously obvious to those who have visited Aunt Flo on a regular basis. But they also show how terribly inadequate current medical research is on women’s health.

“One of the most important things to note is that despite advances in cycle tracking tools available, research on the menstrual cycle and menstrual health remains limited,” said the lead investigator of the study. One Dr. Shulti Maharingaia said. Associate Professor, Faculty of Public Health, Harvard University. “Historically, the menstrual cycle has not been well studied and women have been underestimated in very important and large studies.”

For example, if you search for “menstruation” in PubMed Between 2001 and 2018, there were only about 8,400 studies on this subject. Conversely, searching for cardiovascular disease over the same period yields 1.3 million results. If you want to be gender-specific, prostate cancer gets 121,000 results and erectile dysfunction gets about 16,000 results. Historically, the problem is exacerbated given that most researchers are male and exclude women from clinical research.In the United States, Congress did not require women to participate in clinical trials Until 1993.. As a result, there is a significant lack of basic data and women’s health care is inadequate.Take Affecting Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Estimated 5 million women In the United States, it has become one of the most common hormonal disorders among women of childbearing age. Less than half Correctly diagnosed, 34% of PCOS say it took more 2 years and 3 or more doctors To get a diagnosis.Endometriosis, a painful condition that affects about 10% of women, and In many cases, Ten years You will be diagnosed. Not helping the problem is the common stigma of talking about the menstrual cycle, vagina, or uterus.

This is a problem that wearable makers are also guilty of. Fitness trackers have been around since 2011, but it took Fitbit seven years to add cycle tracking.Garmin and Apple soon followed, and the former was also released Pregnancy tracking Last November.However, with Apple AvaThere are only two fertility trackers who have been involved in clinical research, especially on women’s health.

So while the preliminary results of the Apple Women’s Health Study aren’t surprising at all, it’s good that this study exists. Wearables that can capture long-term data in a non-invasive way are quite likely to discover new information and lead to more research on women’s health. Large scale that can help correct a terrible lack of basic data on women’s health when considering that women with Apple Watches and iPhones and menstruating people may participate in the study I’m looking at diverse datasets at.

“What scientific researchers and doctors want to know, and what they need to know, is the menstrual cycle, its relationship to long-term health, and what environmental factors can affect the length and characteristics of the menstrual cycle. It’s about having sex, “said Mahalingia. “This study creates a larger basic dataset on this topic, which could ultimately lead to further discoveries and innovations in women’s health research and care.”