Abstract 3002: Long Term Oral Contraceptive Use is an Independent Risk Factor for Arterial Stiffening

Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst Rietzschel ◽  
Marc De Buyzere ◽  
Patrick Segers ◽  
Sofie Bekaert ◽  
Dirk De Bacquer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Therapy ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Hormone Replacement ◽  
Lipid Lowering ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use ◽  
Arterial Tonometry ◽  
Blood Pressures ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Population Effects

Oral contraceptives (OC) are among the most frequently used drugs in the world with approximately 100 million women worldwide taking OC. In contrast to the active controversy surrounding hormone replacement therapy, little attention has been focused on OC, a drug therapy taken by far more women for far longer time periods. We describe the population effects of current and long-term OC exposure on a prognostically well validated marker of arterial stiffness: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). The Asklepios study is a representative sample (2524 apparently healthy M/F volunteers, aged 35–55 years, 1301 women) from the Belgian general population, free from overt cardiovascular disease. The subjects were extensively screened (biochemistry, lifestyle, cardiac and vascular echography, arterial tonometry). PWV was measured from flow patterns registered by Doppler echography in the femoral and carotid arteries. Of 1301 women (median age 45.7 y), 27.4% were actively taking OC. In contrast past use of OC is far more prevalent with 81% of women having taken OC for at least 1 year. The median duration of exposition in these women was 13 years. Age-adjusted PWV was higher in women currently taking OC: 6.75 versus 6.55 m/s (difference 0.19 ± 0.09 m/s; p = 0.034). However, current OC users also had higher blood pressures (BP): systolic BP (+4.4 ± 0.9 mmHg; p < 0.001), diastolic BP (+2.3 ± 0.6 mmHg; p < 0.001). After adjustement for BP, the difference in PWV between current OC users and non-users became non-significant: 6.60 versus 6.62 m/s (difference 0.02 ± 0.09 m/s; p = 0.814). In contrast, duration of OC use is a significant determinant of PWV, even after adjustement for age, BP, lipid levels, body size, heart rate, drug therapy (lipid-lowering, antihypertensive), glycemic status and smoking: F = 6.1; p = 0.013. Per 10 years of OC exposure PWV increased by 0.1 m/s (0.02– 0.18; p = 0.013). Use of OC is associated with increased vascular stiffness in women. Current use is associated with increased PWV because OC’s increase blood pressure, long-term use (probably through structural remodelling of the vessels) is an independent determinant of PWV, increasing PWV by 0.10 m/s per 10 years exposure.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in long-term oral contraceptive use

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 372-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Isabel Fiel ◽  
Albert Min ◽  
Michael A. Gerber ◽  
Bridget Faire ◽  
Myron Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Oral Contraceptive ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use

scholarly journals No compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity track changes in women’s hormonal status

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict C Jones ◽  
Amanda C Hahn ◽  
Claire I Fisher ◽  
Hongyi Wang ◽  
Michal Kandrik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Contraceptive ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
Hormonal Status ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Facial Masculinity ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use ◽  
Women’S Preferences

AbstractAlthough widely cited as strong evidence that sexual selection has shaped human facial attractiveness judgments, evidence that preferences for masculine characteristics in men’s faces are related to women’s hormonal status is equivocal and controversial. Consequently, we conducted the largest ever longitudinal study of the hormonal correlates of women’s preferences for facial masculinity (N=584). Analyses showed no compelling evidence that preferences for facial masculinity were related to changes in women’s salivary steroid hormone levels. Furthermore, both within-subject and between-subject comparisons showed no evidence that oral contraceptive use decreased masculinity preferences. However, women generally preferred masculinized over feminized versions of men’s faces, particularly when assessing men’s attractiveness for short-term, rather than long-term, relationships. Our results do not support the hypothesized link between women’s preferences for facial masculinity and their hormonal status.

scholarly journals Intake of specific carotenoids and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
C. D'Arcy J. Holman ◽  
Colin W. Binns
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Epithelial Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Hormone Replacement ◽  
Menopausal Status ◽  
Ovarian Cancer Risk ◽  
Total Carotenoids ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use ◽  
Tea Drinking ◽  
Β Carotene

There has been considerable interest in the role of carotenoids in the chemoprevention of cancer. However, few studies have examined the association between intake of specific carotenoids and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer and the results for carotenoids have been inconclusive. To investigate whether the intake of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, and lycopene is inversely associated with ovarian cancer risk, a case–control study was conducted in China during 1999–2000. The cases were 254 patients with histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer and 652 age-matched controls were randomly recruited during the same period. Habitual dietary intake and lifestyle were collected by face-to-face interview using a validated and reliable FFQ. The US Department of Agriculture nutrient composition database was used to calculate the intake of specific carotenoids. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to estimate OR and 95 % CI, accounting for age, locality, education, BMI, smoking, tea drinking, parity, oral contraceptive use, hormone replacement therapy, menopausal status, family history of ovarian cancer, physical activity and energy intake. Compared with the highest v. the lowest quartile of intake, the adjusted OR were 0·39 (95 % CI 0·23, 0·66) for α-carotene, 0·51 (95 % CI 0·31, 0·84) for β-carotene, 0·51 (95 % CI 0·31, 0·83) for β-cryptoxanthin, 0·45 (0·27, 0·76) for lutein and zeaxanthin, and 0·33 (95 % CI 0·20, 0·56) for total carotenoids, with statistically significant tests for trend. It is concluded that a higher intake of carotenoids can reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Postscript: starting oral contraceptives (25 May, page 41)

1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (14) ◽  
pp. 56.1-56
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Oral Contraceptives ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Causal Relation ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Term Pregnancy ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Uk

In our article on oral contraceptives (OCs) we state that ‘oral contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer with long-term use but reduce the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer’. Some commentators have questioned the breast cancer risk. The UK National Case-Control (UKNCC) study, which looked at oral contraceptive use in women with breast cancer diagnosed before age 36, found a trend for increased risk associated with duration of use.1 ‘The simplest and most plausible explanation’, say the authors of the study, ‘must be that there is a substantial causal relation between prolonged use and breast cancer in young women.’ The increased risk seems to be associated particularly with OC use before the first full-term pregnancy.2 Several studies found no excess risk in OC users aged 45 or over, few of whom had taken the pill before their first pregnancy.3–5 In the UKNCC study the relative risk of breast cancer was 1.43 after 4–8 years’ use and 1.74 after more than 8 years’ use. In broad terms this means that three women in 1000 who use oral contraceptives for 4 or more years might be expected to be under treatment for breast cancer by age 36, compared with two per 1000 non-users.

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