Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-15T16:05:40.715Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Oral Contraception and Serious Psychiatric Illness: Absence of an Association

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

M. P. Vessey ,
K. McPherson ,
M. Lawless  and
D. Yeates
M. P. Vessey
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine & General Practice, Gibson Laboratories Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, OX2 6HE
K. McPherson
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine & General Practice, Gibson Laboratories Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, OX2 6HE
M. Lawless
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine & General Practice, Gibson Laboratories Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, OX2 6HE
D. Yeates
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine & General Practice, Gibson Laboratories Building, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, OX2 6HE
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The incidence of serious psychiatric illness, as measured by first referral to hospital for specialist advice and treatment, has been investigated among 16,746 women taking part in the Oxford Family Planning Association contraceptive study. Of these women, 9,504 were recruited while using oral contraceptives, 4,144 while using a diaphragm and 3,098 while using an intrauterine device.

The results are reassuring with respect to oral contraceptive use. First referral rates per 1000 woman-years of observation in the oral contraceptive, diaphragm, and intrauterine device entry groups were 3.0, 2.6, and 2.8 respectively for non-psychotic psychiatric disorders and 0.46, 0.43, and 0.53 respectively for psychotic disorders.

Attempted suicide occurred only 40% as often amongst diaphragm users as amongst users of oral contraceptives or intrauterine devices; this finding presumably reflects the characteristics of women who choose the diaphragm as their birth control method.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 1 , January 1985 , pp. 45 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, P. W., Wynn, V., Rose, D. P., Seed, M., Folkard, J. & Strong, R. (1968) Effect of pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6) upon depression associated with oral contraception. Lancet, i, 879–904.Google Scholar
Cullberg, J. (1972) Mood changes and menstrual symptoms with different gestagen/estrogen combinations. A double blind comparison with placebo. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Suppl. 236.Google Scholar
Fleming, O. & Seager, C. P. (1978) Incidence of depressive symptoms in users of the oral contraceptive. British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, 431–440.Google Scholar
Goldzieher, J. W., Moses, L. E., Averkin, E., Scheel, C. & Taber, B. Z. (1971) Nervousness and depression attributed to oral contraceptives: a double blind, placebo-controlled study. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 111, 1013–1020.Google Scholar
Grounds, D., Davies, B. & Mowbray, R. (1970) The contraceptive pill, side effects and personality: report of a controlled double blind trial. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 169–172.Google Scholar
Herzberg, B. N., Johnson, A. L. & Brown, S. (1970) Depressive symptoms and oral contraceptives. British Medical Journal, 2, 142–145.Google Scholar
Kane, F. J. (1976) Evaluation of emotional reactions to oral contraceptive use. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology., 126, 968–972.Google Scholar
Lewis, A. & Hoghughi, M. (1969) An evaluation of depression as a side effect of oral contraceptives. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 697–701.Google Scholar
Murawski, B. J., Sapir, P. E., Shulman, N., Ryan, G. M. & Sturgis, S. H. (1968) An investigation of mood states in women taking oral contraceptives. Fertility and Sterility, 19, 50–62.Google Scholar
Nilsson, A. & Almgren, P. E. (1968) Psychiatric symptoms during the post-partum period as related to the use of oral contraceptives. British Medical Journal, 1, 453–455.Google Scholar
Ramcharan, S., Pellegrin, F. A., Ray, R., Hsu, J. P. (1981) The Walnut Creek Contraceptive Drug Study, Volume III. Bethesda. Maryland: National Institutes of Health.Google Scholar
Royal College of General Practitioners (1974) Oral contraceptives and health. London: Pitman Medical.Google Scholar
Royal College of General Practitioners (1977) Effect on hypertension and benign breast disease of progestogen components in combined oral contraceptives. Lancet, i, 624.Google Scholar
Vessey, M. P., Doll, R., Peto, R., Johnson, B. & Wiggins, P. (1976) A long-term follow-up study of women using different methods of contraception - an interim report. Journal of Biosocial Science, 8, 373–427.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M. & Slaby, A. E. (1973) Oral contraceptives and psychiatric disturbance: evidence from research. British Journal of Psychiatry, 123, 513–518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.