In the second half of their menstrual cycle, women find it more disgusting because their immune system is suppressed and they run the risk of becoming infected, the study finds
- The Jagiellonian University Medical School in Krakow examined 93 women
- Found women were more disgusting in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle
- According to researchers, women are more sensitive to sources of infection in this phase
A study suggested that women find bad smells and other people’s diseases more irritating during the second half of their monthly cycle.
The appearance of germs becomes more disgusting for the woman because they are more vulnerable to infection in the phase of the menstrual cycle.
The study by Jagiellonian University Medical School in Krakow, Poland, interviewed 93 women between the ages of 18 and 45 at different times in their cycle.
They asked participants to suggest seven different disgusting scenarios and asked them to rate their levels of disgust after looking at 20 photos.
A study by Jagiellonian University Medical School in Krakow, Poland, suggested that bad smells and diseases of other people are more noticeable during the second half of their monthly cycle.
The participants said they were most upset about the idea of sitting next to someone with open sores or sitting next to someone with a strong body odor.
From the photos they were asked to look at, the picture of a crowded underground train is repulsive.
According to scientists, women have developed an increased sensitivity to potential sources of infection in the luteal phase – the second half – of the menstrual cycle.
Dr Andrzej Galbarczyk, an author of the study published in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior, said it developed as a method of protecting a fertilized egg when they became pregnant.
The body is more likely to reject an egg if the immune system is suppressed, he told The Times.
He said: ‘As a result, women are more vulnerable to pathogens and infections during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
‘Therefore, women should feel more disgusted during periods of reproductive immunomodulation – periods of increased susceptibility to infections – and increase behaviors associated with avoiding infections.
“These changes can be caused by a combination of different hormones or factors.”
This comes after a study in February found that people who repel easily may have developed this trait as a natural way to avoid infections.
Scientists have found that people with a low threshold for feeling disgusted are less likely to become infected with bacteria or viruses.
According to researchers at Washington State University, this proves that Charles Darwin’s 19th-century theory that aversion developed as a self-defense mechanism is true.
Dr Aaron Blackwell, co-author of the study, said: ‘We found that people with higher levels of aversion had lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers indicating bacterial or viral infections.
“While the study shows that disgust works to protect against infection, it also showed that it differs in different environments, based on how easily people can avoid certain things.”
Charles Darwin first came up with the theory that people developed a sense of disgust as a way to avoid contaminated food in 1872.
Later studies have found that aversion protects people in affluent parts of the world, where it is possible to avoid a pathogen if you think there is one.
For example, if a packet of chicken is taken out of the fridge and has an unpleasant odor, it can be thrown in the trash as other meals are available.
However, no research has been done to test the theory in environments, as humans have no way of avoiding similar warning signs.