BACKGROUND Epidemiological studies have shown that both the estrogen dose and progestogen type of oral contraceptives contribute to the increased risk of thrombosis in oral contraceptive users. Thrombin generation-based activated protein C (APC) sensitivity is a global test for the net prothrombotic effect of oral contraceptives and predicts the thrombotic risk. Our objective was to test the us...

The association between users of combined oral contraceptives and depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) for contraception and bone mineral density (BMD) has been controversial because of variations among studies. Like other studies, this cross-sectional study compares BMD in users of combined oral contraceptives and DMPA with that in nonusers. Unlike previous studies, we defined long-term us...

INTRODUCTION Use of hormonal contraceptives for birth control is commonplace in the Western World. In Europe, there is considerable variety in the frequency of use of hormonal contraceptives and in the age at which these contraceptives are initiated. The purpose of the present study was to describe the use of hormonal contraceptives among the Danish adolescent female population, focusing on age...

E1278 CMAJ, December 13, 2011, 183(18) © 2011 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors The lifetime incidence of venous thromboembolism for both men and women is estimated at 1 per 1000. Increasing our understanding of the precipitating risk factors, as well as optimizing the prevention of this condition in high-risk populations, could help to reduce the burden of venous thromboembolism. A...

OBJECTIVE To compare the estimated proportion of contraindications to combined oral contraceptives between women who obtained combined oral contraceptives in U.S. public clinics compared with women who obtained combined oral contraceptives over the counter (OTC) in Mexican pharmacies. METHODS We recruited a cohort of 501 women who were residents of El Paso, Texas, who obtained OTC combined or...

Since their introduction in the 1960s the safety of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) has been widely debated. The difficulty in determining if COC use increases the risk of developing cancer is due to: • the long latent period between exposure to the potential carcinogen and overt malignant disease • the fact that due to the developments in COCs women are likely to have taken a variety of di...