CycleTrack study to build world's largest menstrual fluid biobank in bid to transform heavy menstrual bleeding care
核心洞察
The CycleTrack study, led by the universities of Bristol and Exeter, will create the world's largest biobank of dried menstrual fluid samples to improve understanding of heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索) and related conditions.
Heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索) affects up to half of women worldwide, yet researchers say menstrual health remains poorly understood due to a lack of high-quality data.
The study will recruit thousands of participants from the Children of the 90s and Born in Bradford birth cohorts, collecting real-time symptom data and menstrual fluid samples over three cycles.
A major new research project aiming to transform care for women with heavy periods will create the world's largest menstrual fluid biobank. The CycleTrack study, led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Exeter, hopes to improve understanding of heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索) (HMB) and related conditions such as endometriosis (搜索) and fibroids (搜索), helping speed up diagnosis and treatment for millions of women.
Professor Gemma Sharp, an epidemiologist at the University of Exeter who specialises in women's health research and leads the project, said the study was going to be "a real game changer" for menstrual health research and could cut waiting times for effective treatment.
The scale of the problem
Heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索), sometimes known as HMB, affects up to half of women worldwide and can have a significant impact on physical, emotional and social wellbeing. Sharp defined the condition as "excessive menstrual blood loss that interferes with your physical, social, emotional and/or quality of life," noting that it "can occur with or without underlying pathology such as fibroids (搜索), hormonal issues."
Common symptoms can include bleeding lasting longer than seven days, the need to change sanitary protection every one to two hours, passing large blood clots, and signs of iron deficiency (搜索) anaemia such as fatigue and dizziness.
Researchers say menstrual health remains poorly understood despite being a key indicator of overall health, partly because of a lack of high-quality data. Recent studies have suggested heavy periods can affect many aspects of daily life, including educational attainment and school attendance.
How the study works
The study will recruit participants from two long-running birth cohort studies: Children of the 90s in south-west England and Born in Bradford in West Yorkshire. Thousands of volunteers will use a specialist app and detailed questionnaires to record symptoms, sleep, mood, energy levels and overall wellbeing.
Participants will also provide menstrual fluid samples over three menstrual cycles using specially designed period pads. By linking those samples with long-term health information and genetic data already held by the cohort studies, researchers hope to uncover biological signals associated with heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索).
Professor Sharp said CycleTrack would be the largest bank of dried menstrual fluid samples in the world. "We'll be able to understand what causes different conditions, like endometriosis (搜索), fibroids (搜索), the impact of those conditions on other areas of life, and then hopefully new ways to predict, prevent, and treat those symptoms as well," she said.
A wider international effort
The study is part of a wider international programme known as The Missed Vital Sign, led by Wellcome Leap (搜索), which aims to dramatically reduce the time women wait for effective treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索).
Researchers believe the findings could lead to earlier diagnosis, more personalised treatment plans and new methods of identifying health risks linked to heavy periods, including iron deficiency (搜索).
Addressing long-standing gaps
The CycleTrack team hopes the large volume of data generated by the study will provide new insights into how heavy periods affect everyday life, work, education and general health. The information could also help shape future guidance for schools and employers on supporting people affected by heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索).
Scientists say many women face delays in diagnosis and treatment, while some may not realise symptoms such as extreme tiredness or dizziness can be linked to blood loss and iron deficiency (搜索).
Maria Lewis, 34, from Weston-super-Mare, has lived with heavy menstrual bleeding (搜索) since she first started menstruating and was diagnosed with endometriosis (搜索) last year. She has taken part in the Children of the 90s study since childhood and was keen to support the latest research. Describing the impact of her condition, she said: "It's horrific. I'm in pain every day."
Although she cannot take part in the menstrual fluid collection because she takes hormonal contraception to manage her symptoms and no longer menstruates, she believes the research could help improve understanding of conditions affecting women. "Absolutely, it needs more of a platform and a louder voice," she said.