Background: The relation between Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) serostatus and menstrual irregularities is controversial. Toward a better understanding of menstrual abnormalities among HIV infected women and the role of HIV related variables, we conducted the present study.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2016 and December 2017 among 111 eligible HIV infected women and in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Participant were recruited based on convenience sampling method. We addressed the menstrual data of 102 participants (returning at least three consecutive menstrual calendars) through a self-constructed questionnaire. We also assessed HIV viral load and CD4 cells count of each participant at the time of study enrollment. Descriptive statistics as well as Kruskal-Wallis test and Bonferroni post hoc tests were used to address our objectives, so we used Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 for windows (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). Significance level was considered as 0.05.

Results: Vaginal spotting (18%) and metrorrhagia (18%) were the most prevalent disorders among our participants. Despite of sociodemographic variables, we found significant relationship between HIV viral load and hypermenorrhea as well as CD4 cells count and polymenorrhea (Kruskal-Wallis test; P < 0.05).

Conclusion: HIV related immunosuppression seems to have significant impact on some aspects of menstrual cycles among Iranian women.