The Pill and Depression: Women’s Health Issues By Mrs Vera West
Over the decades there have been numerous medical reports of adverse effects from the contraceptive Pill, and now it is common to see internet medical sites openly listing ill-effects, such as:
- Spotting between periods. Breakthrough bleeding, or spotting, refers to when vaginal bleeding occurs between menstrual cycles. ...
- ...
- Breast tenderness. ...
- Headaches and migraine. ...
- Weight gain. ...
- Mood changes. ...
- Missed periods. ..
Now add to that list, depression, with a new study based upon based on 264,557 people in the United Kingdom, which found "an increased risk of depression shortly after initiation." The study is an observational one, meaning that the phenomenon is observed without interventions being introduced, so causality is not established. Yet the results are significant, as compared to cohorts who never had taken the Pill; the Pill takers were 80 percent more likely to be depressed in the first two years of use of the Pill.
Beyond the physical effects, the really depressing thing about he Pill was that its invention led to the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the breakdown of the family, and it turbo-charged the feminist agenda, leading step-by-step to the world we have now, with abortion on demand, in some jurisdictions up to birth, all possible by the breakdown of Christian moral values. The Pill had a greater socially destructive impact than mere physical ill-effects. This example shows that technological inventions can have profoundly bad social consequences, as least from the perspective of conservativism. We ignore technology, at our peril.
'The Pill' is a revolutionary drug that has changed the lives of millions the world over.
Not only can the right combination of progesterone and estrogen prevent pregnancy with great effectiveness, but it can also be used to treat acne, menstrual pain, migraines, and symptoms of endometriosis.
Like any medication, however, oral contraceptive pills come with risks and side effects that vary from person to person – and depression seems to be one of them.
A recent observational study, based on 264,557 people in the United Kingdom Biobank, has found further evidence that the combined oral contraceptive is associated with "an increased risk of depression shortly after initiation."
The research was conducted by scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and while it does not prove causation, the results are worth considering further.
Compared to those participants who had never taken a combined oral contraceptive in their life, the researchers found those who started taking oral contraceptives faced an 80 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with depression in the first two years.
Of all the age groups represented in the cohort, teenage patients seemed the most susceptible. In the first two years of oral contraceptive use, people under 20 years of age faced a 95 percent increased risk of depression.
The findings are significant, but they should not frighten people away from taking oral contraceptives. These medicines help many and are highly effective at what they do.
Like any medication, however, oral contraceptive pills come with risks and side effects that vary from person to person – and depression seems to be one of them.
A recent observational study, based on 264,557 people in the United Kingdom Biobank, has found further evidence that the combined oral contraceptive is associated with "an increased risk of depression shortly after initiation."
The research was conducted by scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and while it does not prove causation, the results are worth considering further.
Compared to those participants who had never taken a combined oral contraceptive in their life, the researchers found those who started taking oral contraceptives faced an 80 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with depression in the first two years.
Of all the age groups represented in the cohort, teenage patients seemed the most susceptible. In the first two years of oral contraceptive use, people under 20 years of age faced a 95 percent increased risk of depression.
The findings are significant, but they should not frighten people away from taking oral contraceptives. These medicines help many and are highly effective at what they do.
Abstract
Aim
Research on the effect of oral contraceptive (OC) use on the risk of depression shows inconsistent findings, especially in adult OC users. One possible reason for this inconsistency is the omission of women who discontinue OCs due to adverse mood effects, leading to healthy user bias. To address this issue, we aim to estimate the risk of depression that is associated with the initiation of OCs as well as the effect of OC use on lifetime risk of depression.
Methods
This is a population-based cohort study based on data from 264,557 women from the UK Biobank. Incidence of depression was addressed via interviews, inpatient hospital or primary care data. The hazard ratio (HR) between OC use and incident depression was estimated by multivariable Cox regression with OC use as a time-varying exposure. To validate causality, we examined familial confounding in 7,354 sibling pairs.
Results
We observed that the first 2 years of OC use were associated with a higher rate of depression compared to never users (HR = 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–1.88). Although the risk was not as pronounced beyond the first 2 years, ever OC use was still associated with an increased lifetime risk of depression (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09). Previous OC use were associated with a higher rate of depression compared to never users, with adolescent OC users driving the increased hazard (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.12–1.25). No significant association were observed among adult OC users who had previously used OCs (HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.95–1.04). Notably, the sibling analysis provided further evidence for a causal effect of OC use on the risk of depression.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that the use of OCs, particularly during the first 2 years, increases the risk of depression. Additionally, OC use during adolescence might increase the risk of depression later in life. Our results are consistent with a causal relationship between OC use and depression, as supported by the sibling analysis. This study highlights the importance of considering the healthy user bias as well as family-level confounding in studies of OC use and mental health outcomes. Physicians and patients should be aware of this potential risk when considering OCs, and individualized risk–benefit assessments should be conducted.
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