A large study into a possible link between the contraceptive pill and depression suggests that women taking the contraceptive are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than those not taking the pill.
Researchers in Denmark studied the health records of more than a million women aged between 15 and 34,and the results were staggering.
They found that the increased chance of depression varied depending on whether the women were on the progestin-only pill, or the combined pill which contains artifical oestrogen and progesterone.
It showed women on the combined pill were 23% more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than those not on hormonal contraception and this increased to an incredible 80% for girls aged between 15 and 19 on the combined pill.
Of those taking the progestin-only pill, the study found that 34% of women were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant.
Could younger girls be more at risk?
One of the researchers, Professor Øjvind Lidegaard, was particularly concerned about the number of young women affected. He told the BBC:"If it is increasing by 80% it is not a trivial finding, it's something women should be fully informed about."
Obviously this study couldn’t take into account other factors in these women’s lives aside from their contraceptive choices, which means these findings can’t be taken as a final word on the subject.
Dr Channa Jayasena, a clinical senior lecturer in reproductive endocrinology at Imperial College London explained to The Guardian: “The study does not prove and does not claim that the pill plays any role in the development of depression."
“Further work is needed to see if these results can be repeated in other populations, and to determine possible biological mechanisms which might underlie any possible link between the pill and depression. Until then, women should not be deterred from taking the pill.”
In addition to this, the pill has been used in the past as a method of dealing with anxiety and depression in some women, proving that the medication can have very different effects on different people!
Have you suffered depression whilst taking the pill? Or has your life been improved? Would you give your daughter the pill if she wanted it?
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