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Heavy or painful menstrual periods are linked to worse exam results

Heavy, prolonged or painful menstrual periods are associated with more days off school and scoring worse on compulsory exams in a UK study

By Elizabeth Hlavinka

10 May 2024

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Heavy periods may result in time off school and worse exam grades if girls lack the products they need

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Menstrual periods that are heavy, prolonged or painful have been linked to worse exam grades among teenage girls in a UK study.

Gemma Sawyer at the University of Bristol and her colleagues looked at more than 2600 girls aged between 13 and 16 who took part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. No trans boys were included in the research. The girls were asked whether they experienced heavy…

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