Effect of menstrual cups on vaginal health, reproductive tract and urogenital infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Anna Maria van Eijk, Alexandra Quinn-Savory, Garazi Zulaika, Alys Skinner, Linda Mason, Stefan J. Green, Penelope A. Phillips–Howard, Supriya D. Mehta · 2026
Read Effect of menstrual cups on vaginal health, reproductive tract and urogenital infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Anna Maria van Eijk, Alexandra Quinn-Savory, Garazi Zulaika, Alys Skinner, Linda Mason, Stefan J. Green, Penelope A. Phillips–Howard, Supriya D. Mehta (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13224115.txt.
Description
Anna Maria van Eijk and co-authors review menstrual cups and health in a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis. A cup is a small device worn inside the vagina to collect blood during a period. The team asked whether cup use affects the vaginal microbiome or rates of infections of the reproductive tract and urinary tract.
They searched four databases for trials and observational studies with lab-confirmed outcomes, and they found 11 studies with 10,268 participants. Only three studies were rated good quality. In two trials in Kenya, cup users had a lower risk of sexually transmitted infections than users of other products. The link with bacterial vaginosis was weaker and less certain. The review weighs both promise and thin evidence.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Anna Maria van Eijk, Alexandra Quinn-Savory, Garazi Zulaika, Alys Skinner, Linda Mason, Stefan J. Green, Penelope A. Phillips–Howard, Supriya D. Mehta |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |