​In her 2021 BMC Women’s Health Study examined period poverty (i.e. not being able to afford menstrual products) with depressive symptoms among US college students. This study was notable because period poverty is often conceptualized as an issue solely of relevance in the Global South as opposed to US-based university students. Her study found 14% of 400 students reported period poverty experiences, period poverty was also associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms in comparison to those without period poverty experiences. Moreover, Dr. Gupta's research found inequities in period poverty experiences in terms of race/ethnicity, immigration, and whether or not students were first generation college students.

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Findings from this study have shaped policy and legislation at local, state, and federal levels. Most notably, Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) held a meeting with me about this work, and cited my research in the findings section of The Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, H.R. 3614 (117th Cong. 2021), and in accompanying talking points about the bill. Locally, this work was used by Councilmember Brooke Pinto (DC-Ward 2) to advance D.C.’s new “Expanding Student Access to Period Products Act of 2021. Dr. Gupta was also invited by County Councilmember Will Jawando (Montgomery County, MD) to provide expert testimony and join a press conference in support of Bill 42-23 (Menstrual Products and Equity Act).

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Dr. Gupta is currently working with the University of Hawai’i University System and the Ma’I Movement in examining intersections between housing insecurity, period poverty, and mental health among Hawai’i university students.