Study links painful period to mental health issues among women with sickle cell disease

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Research has found a strong correlation between painful periods and high rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among women living with sickle cell disease.

The study, conducted by Research Fellow at the Sickle Cell Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies (UWI), Dr Zachary Ramsay, was presented at the 16th Annual National Research Conference held earlier this year at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

He said that the situation presents a potential public health crisis that demands urgent intervention and more comprehensive patient care.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder caused by the abnormal haemoglobin S, which leads red blood cells to become rigid and sickle-shaped.