CV NEWS FEED // Oral contraceptives can increase the risk of depression by up to 130% for women who began using them during their teenage years, according to a new UK-based study.
The study also found that those who began taking oral contraceptives (OC) after the age of 20 still saw a 92% increased risk of experiencing depression. The peer-reviewed study was published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences by Cambridge University Press.
With “an estimated 151 million women of reproductive age” using oral hormonal contraceptives, scientists must continue to research and understand the health risks involved with using these drugs, the study said.
Higher depression rates were found in women who began taking OCs during their teenage years. Girls and young women are more susceptible to hormonal changes that can affect the development of brain structures, leading to long-term effects.
Further, these women continued to have a higher risk of depression, even after stopping the use of hormonal birth control. Women experienced “higher depression rates in the first years after discontinuing OCs.”
Long-term users of hormonal birth control reported that they began taking the drug when they were younger, had higher socioeconomic status, had less family history of depression, and engaged in sexual activity at a younger age. However, in order to try to account for some of these confounding variables, the study adjusted for age of first menstruation, age of sexual debut, and familial dispositions.
A recent Danish study found similar results, but such studies have historically made inconsistent findings.
The inconsistencies could potentially be due to other studies not taking “healthy user bias” into account. This bias means that the “mood effects of OCs can lead to discontinuations and is a contraindication for their use, which may result in decreased participation in subsequent clinical trials and underestimation of effects.”
Another potential reason for these inconsistencies lies in the variety of study methods. Most other studies use “a prevalent user design, which assumes the effect [of OCs are] similar in current and new users, [which] would miss the increased risk seen early in the treatment course,” according to the UK-based study.
The study ultimately concluded that there is a relationship between oral contraceptives and depression rates in women and called for further research into that connection.
