Contents:
- Medical Video: Women's Health : Long-Term Birth Control Side Effects
- Women who use birth control pills are at risk of depression
- The risk is higher for teenage women
- Women are advised to be more selective when choosing contraceptives
Medical Video: Women's Health : Long-Term Birth Control Side Effects
A new study in Copenhagen Denmark states that women taking hormonal contraception such as birth control pills are at risk of depression. Initially, these researchers have found that the use of birth control pills has to do with the use of antidepressants afterwards, so that they sometimes show symptoms of depression as a side effect.
Women who use birth control pills are at risk of depression
The study, published by JAMA Psychiatry, publishes the content that some women who take birth control pills are at risk of depression. Actually this study aims to find out which type of contraception has the highest risk and how much the risk.
However, researchers found that the progesterone hormone in the progestin birth control pill causes depression. Previous research found a link between the two, but there is no further research. Even though it is known, birth control pills contain estrogen and progestin. This pill is called a combination pill, but there are also pills that only contain progestin.
The researchers also compared hormonal contraceptive users with women who did not use it. The results found that hormonal contraceptive users were more likely to be prescribed antidepressants and tended to suffer from depression after the use of contraception.
The risk is higher for teenage women
Dr. Lidegaard, one of the researchers and professors of the University of Copenhagen explained that there are small differences in risk between several types of birth control pills. Such hormonal contraception patch (which is affixed to the skin) and vaginal ring (inserted into the vagina), has a higher risk of depression than those who only take combination birth control pills.
Then the results of this finding suggest that women aged 20 to 34 years have a risk of 1 to 1.5 times consuming antidepressants since they first used hormonal contraception. While women aged 15 to 19 years have a risk of 1 to 2 times needing antidepressant drugs. Worse yet, those who use contraception are like vaginal ring or patch, instead it tends to be three times risky.
The study of young women and women has a very alarming effect, considering that unwanted pregnancies in adolescents decline a lot after in Europe and America promoting hormonal contraception such as IUDs or implants.
Women are advised to be more selective when choosing contraceptives
Based on the results of the above research, scientists still don't know why progestin substances can cause depression. Dr. Lidegaard said, women should be more selective in using contraception. For example, those who are vulnerable or have experienced depression should be selected for a non-hormonal type of IUD or may have tubectomy.
However, there are several important things to consider regarding the results. For example, this study has not been able to prove that contraceptive methods will definitely cause depression. This only aims to find the risk of using contraception.
In addition, the risk of taking antidepressants will usually last around 2-3 months after first using hormonal contraception
