Use of Hormonal Contraceptives May Increase Depression Risk in Young Women
Women, particularly adolescent women, are at increased risk of developing depression if they use hormonal contraceptives, according to a 2016 study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study by Charlotte Wessel Skovlund and colleagues used data from a Danish registry of more than one million women between the ages of 15 and 34 who had no history of depression or other psychiatric disorders. During follow-up (which lasted an average of 6.4 years), 55% of the women were using or had recently used hormonal contraceptives. These women were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant for the first time, and more likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to women who did not use hormonal contraceptives.
The increased risk of being prescribed an antidepressant varied by contraceptive type. The norgestrolmin patch increased risk by 2.0 times, and the etonogestrel vaginal ring did so by 1.6 times. The levonorgestrel intrauterine device (IUD) made an antidepressant prescription 1.4 times more likely. Progestin-only pills increased risk by 1.34 times and combined oral contraceptive pills increased it by 1.23 times compared to women who did not use oral contraceptives.
The relative risk peaked at around six months after starting hormonal contraceptives.
Patients aged 15–19 were particularly vulnerable to depression. The likelihood of receiving an antidepressant prescription was 1.8 times higher in teens taking combined pills, 2.2 times higher in those taking progestin-only pills, and 3 times higher in teens using hormonal methods of birth control that are not delivered orally compared to those who did not use hormonal contraceptives at all.
