Garforth, B., Degnbol, H., Terris, E. T., Zak, P. J., & Winterdahl, M. (2020). Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users. Scientific reports, 10(1), 8208. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w
Garforth B, Degnbol H, Terris ET, Zak PJ, Winterdahl M. Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):8208. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w
Garforth, Benjamin, et al. "Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users." Scientific reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020, pp. 8208.
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Oral contraception (OC) is used by approximately fifty-five million women in the USA alone and is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation. Altered mood is a common reason for OC cessation. Here we investigate the effects of OC on hormones that are linked to mood. We obtained blood samples from 185 young women (average age 21.2) in two cohorts and tested the effects of OC on plasma levels of oxytocin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), estradiol, progesterone and testosterone. We related plasma hormone levels with self-reported measures of mood, well-being and depression. OC-users in both cohorts showed elevated basal oxytocin, lower ACTH, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone compared with non-OC users. Satisfaction With Life Score (SWLS) was higher in OC -users compared to non-OC users, with no differences in the Beck Depression Score (BDI) and Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANES). In conclusion, our data show alterations in hormone levels and SWLS in response to OC.
The effects of oral contraceptives (OCs) on mental health are not clear, and no study has been focused on the effects of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) on mental health. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between the use of OCs and the LNG-IUS and psychological well-being and psychopathology. The associations between the current use of OCs and the LNG-IUS, and their duration versus mood symptoms [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)], psychological well-being [(General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12)] and recent psychiatric diagnoses [(Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI)] were examined among women who participated in the Finnish-population-based Health 2000 study. Analyses were performed on the 30to 54-year-old sample (n = 2310); some of the analyses were extended to include the younger age group (18to 54-year-old sample; n = 3223). Overall, hormonal contraception was well tolerated with few significant effects on psychological well-being. The length of OC use was inversely associated with some BDI items ('dissatisfaction, irritability, lost interest in people, earlier waking and lost interest in sex'), and directly associated with 'worries about one's health' (BDI) and with a current diagnosis of 'alcohol dependence' (CIDI). The current use of the LNG-IUS was inversely associated with 'earlier waking' (BDI) and with 'impaired concentration' (GHQ), while the length of LNG-IUS use was inversely associated with 'strain' (GHQ). The influence of hormonal birth control on mental health is modest and mainly favourable. The length of current OC use seems to have some beneficial effects on mood although the longer the duration of use, the greater the association with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Knowledge of the use of hormonal contraception might be of value when assessing psychopathology in women. The cross-sectional design, with partly retrospective data collection, precludes any causal conclusions.
Johansson T et al., 2023·Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci·Free full text on PubMed Central
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. 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. 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. 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.
de Wit AE et al., 2019·JAMA Psychiatry·Free full text on PubMed Central
Oral contraceptives have been associated with an increased risk of subsequent clinical depression in adolescents. However, the association of oral contraceptive use with concurrent depressive symptoms remains unclear. To investigate the association between oral contraceptive use and depressive symptoms and to examine whether this association is affected by age and which specific symptoms are associated with oral contraceptive use. DESIGN, SETTING, Data from the third to sixth wave of the prospective cohort study Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), conducted from September 1, 2005, to December 31, 2016, among females aged 16 to 25 years who had filled out at least 1 and up to 4 assessments of oral contraceptive use, were used. Data analysis was performed from March 1, 2017, to May 31, 2019. Exposure: Oral contraceptive use at 16, 19, 22, and 25 years of age. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the DSM-IV-oriented affective problems scale of the Youth (aged 16 years) and Adult Self-Report (aged 19, 22, and 25 years). Data from a total of 1010 girls (743-903 girls, depending on the wave) were analyzed (mean [SD] age at the first assessment of oral contraceptive use, 16.3 [0.7]; (mean [SD] age at the final assessment of oral contraceptive use, 25.6 [0.6] years). Oral contraceptive users particularly differed from nonusers at age 16 years, with nonusers having a higher mean (SD) socioeconomic status (0.17 [0.78] vs -0.15 [0.71]) and more often being virgins (424 of 533 [79.5%] vs 74 of 303 [24.4%]). Although all users combined (mean [SD] ages, 16.3 [0.7] to 25.6 [0.6] years) did not show higher depressive symptom scores compared with nonusers, adolescent users (mean [SD] age, 16.5 [0.7] years) reported higher depressive symptom scores compared with their nonusing counterparts (mean [SD] age, 16.1 [0.6] years) (mean [SD] score, 0.40 [0.30] vs 0.33 [0.30]), which persisted after adjustment for age, socioeconomic status and ethnicity (β coefficient for interaction with age, -0.021; 95% CI, -0.038 to -0.005; P = .0096). Adolescent contraceptive users particularly reported more crying (odds ratio, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.38-2.58; P < .001), hypersomnia (odds ratio, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.14-2.48; P = .006), and more eating problems (odds ratio, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.13-2.10; P = .009) than nonusers. Conclusions and Relevance: Although oral contraceptive use showed no association with depressive symptoms when all age groups were combined, 16-year-old girls reported higher depressive symptom scores when using oral contraceptives. Monitoring depressive symptoms in adolescents who are using oral contraceptives is important, as the use of oral contraceptives may affect their quality of life and put them at risk for nonadherence.
Roberts SC et al., 2012·Proceedings. Biological sciences·Free full text on PubMed Central
Hormonal variation over the menstrual cycle alters women's preferences for phenotypic indicators of men's genetic or parental quality. Hormonal contraceptives suppress these shifts, inducing different mate preference patterns among users and non-users. This raises the possibility that women using oral contraception (OC) choose different partners than they would do otherwise but, to date, we know neither whether these laboratory-measured effects are sufficient to exert real-world consequences, nor what these consequences would be. Here, we test for differences in relationship quality and survival between women who were using or not using OC when they chose the partner who fathered their first child. Women who used OC scored lower on measures of sexual satisfaction and partner attraction, experienced increasing sexual dissatisfaction during the relationship, and were more likely to be the one to initiate an eventual separation if it occurred. However, the same women were more satisfied with their partner's paternal provision, and thus had longer relationships and were less likely to separate. These effects are congruent with evolutionary predictions based on cyclical preference shifts. Our results demonstrate that widespread use of hormonal contraception may contribute to relationship outcome, with implications for human reproductive behaviour, family cohesion and quality of life.
Paul J Zak, Michael Winterdahl, Helle Degnbol, Benjamin Garforth, Elizabeth T Terris
P Zak, Mike Winterdahl, M Winterdahl, H Degnbol, Ben Garforth, B Garforth, Liz Terris, Beth Terris, Betsy Terris, E Terris
PMID 32427955 32427955 DOI 10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w 10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w Garforth et al. 2020, Garforth 2020
Cite this article
Garforth, B., Degnbol, H., Terris, E. T., Zak, P. J., & Winterdahl, M. (2020). Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users. Scientific reports, 10(1), 8208. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w
Garforth B, Degnbol H, Terris ET, Zak PJ, Winterdahl M. Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):8208. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64528-w
Garforth, Benjamin, et al. "Elevated plasma oxytocin levels and higher satisfaction with life in young oral contraceptive users." Scientific reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020, pp. 8208.
