More than one in four women purchasing menstrual products also bought pain relief in the same transaction, according to a new study led by Dr. Victoria Sivill of the University of Bristol and published in the journal PLOS Digital Health. The findings suggest that menstrual pain is a widespread concern and reveal important socioeconomic differences in access to pain relief.

Menstrual pain affects many individuals worldwide and can disrupt everyday activities, including attendance at school and work. Despite its prevalence, population-level data on menstrual pain and access to treatment remain limited.

To address this gap, researchers analysed anonymised loyalty card data from a major UK health and beauty retailer. The dataset included 211 million transactions made by 3.4 million customers across England between 2006 and 2015.

The study found that 26.7% of customers purchasing menstrual products also bought pain relief at the same time. Shoppers were nearly four times more likely to purchase pain relief during a menstrual product purchase than during other shopping trips. Supporting the validity of the approach, the most common interval between repeat menstrual product purchases was 28 days, matching the average menstrual cycle length.

Income-related differences were particularly striking. Customers living in the lowest-income areas were 32% less likely to purchase pain relief alongside menstrual products than those living in the highest-income areas. The researchers suggest that this disparity is more likely to reflect financial barriers to purchasing over-the-counter medications than differences in the prevalence of menstrual pain.

The authors say the findings highlight the need for greater awareness of menstrual pain and policies that address its socioeconomic dimensions. They argue that improving access to menstrual pain relief should be considered an important component of broader public health efforts aimed at reducing health inequities.

More information: Victoria Sivill et al, What can shopping transactional data reveal about relative prevalence of menstrual pain and period poverty in England? PLOS Digital Health. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0001308

Journal information: PLOS Digital Health Provided by PLOS