For fifty years doctors have been wondering whether hormonal contraception could affect mood. A new study from Denmark suggests that the answer is yes.
The researchers reviewed all the records for one million Danish women between 15 and 34 from 1995 to 2013. They compared who got a prescription for a hormonal contraceptive and then analyzed who later was prescribed an antidepressant for the first time.
More than half [55.5%] of the women used a hormonally based method of contraception during that time. Birth control pills were most common, but women also used IUDs with progestin, skin patches and vaginal rings containing estrogen and Depo-Provera, a long-lasting progesterone product.
Teenagers and Young Adults Are Caught in a Dilemma:
Teens appear to be especially vulnerable to the possible psychological effects of hormones used to avoid pregnancy. Those taking birth control pills were 1.8 times more likely than non-users to develop depression after starting the pills. Those using Depo-Provera were about three times more likely than non-users to get an antidepressant prescription.
Young adults are the very people most likely to be relying on hormonal birth control. Oral contraceptives are effective and relatively easy to use. Many women also find hormonal patches and IUDs convenient. But how many are warned that the hormones used, especially progestins, could lead to psychological depression? Here are the conclusions of the researchers:
“In this study, use of all types of hormonal contraceptives was positively associated with a subsequent use of antidepressants and a diagnosis of depression.That finding complies with the theory of progesterone involvement in the etiology of depression, because progestin dominates combined and progestin-only contraceptives.”
