- Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses and can have several debilitating symptoms.
- Researchers are still learning what factors contribute to depression risk.
- A recent study found that oral contraceptives may increase depression risk among adolescent and adult women, particularly in the first two years of use.
Research is ongoing about what factors influence a person’s risk for depression. Often depression risk involves a combination of internal and external factors. Modifying certain risk factors could help to minimize depression risk, making research into these risk factors critical.
Evidence suggests that the use of oral contraceptives may contribute to depression risk.
A recent study published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences found that women using birth control pills may have as much as 130% increased risk for depression, particularly in the first two years of oral contraceptive use.
Researchers of this particular study wanted to understand how birth control pills, which typically influence hormones, may play a role in depression risk. Researchers note that previous studies in this area may be influenced by “healthy user bias.”
Some women may discontinue birth control pills because of mood changes; thus, the data could underestimate the negative impact of oral contraceptive use.
The study was a population-based cohort study. The researchers looked at data from over 264,000 women using data from the UK Biobank. Among these women, about 80% had used birth control pills at some point.
The researchers looked at how starting birth control pills and using hormonal birth control are associated with depression.
Based on their analysis, researchers found that the first two years of using birth control pillswere associated with increased rates of depression compared to women who had never used oral contraceptives.
For women who had stopped taking birth control pills, there was still an increased risk for depression among women who had used…
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