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- Title
Mental Health Symptoms in Oral Contraceptive Users During Short-Term Hormone Withdrawal.
- Authors
Noachtar, Isabel A.; Frokjaer, Vibe G.; Pletzer, Belinda
- Abstract
This case-control study evaluates if short-term hormone withdrawal of oral contraceptives (pill pause) is associated with changes in mental health symptoms in long-term users of combined oral contraceptives depending on progestin type, estrogen dose, and baseline mental health symptoms. Key Points: Question: Is short-term hormone withdrawal, or pill pause, associated with changes in mental health symptoms in long-term users of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in a manner depending on progestin type, estrogen dose, and baseline mental health symptoms? Findings: This case-control study including 180 women found significant mood deterioration during the pill pause. The effect size was comparable with mood changes across the menstrual cycle and more pronounced in COC users with higher baseline depression. Meaning: Similar mood worsening is seen after withdrawal from exogenous hormones in oral contraceptives as from endogenous hormones during menses; therefore, whether a pill pause is advantageous from a mental health perspective is questionable. Importance: Hormonal contraception has been linked to mood symptoms and the ability to recognize emotions after short periods of treatment, whereas the mental health of users of long-term hormonal contraceptives has had limited investigation. Objective: To evaluate whether short-term hormonal withdrawal, which users of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) undergo once a month (pill pause), was associated with altered mood and emotional recognition in long-term users of COCs. Design, Setting, and Participants: This case-control study included a community sample of individuals assigned female sex at birth who identified as women and used COC for 6 months or longer. The control group included women with natural menstrual cycles who otherwise fulfilled the same inclusion criteria. The study was conducted between April 2021 and June 2022 in Salzburg, Austria. Exposure: COC users and women with natural menstrual cycles were tested twice within a month, once during their active pill phase or luteal phase and once during their pill pause or menses. Main Outcomes and Measures: Negative affect, anxiety, and mental health problems were assessed during each session. The percentage increase in mental health symptoms was calculated during the pill pause compared with that during the active intake phase in COC users. How this change compared with mood fluctuations along the menstrual cycle in women with natural menstrual cycles was assessed. Results: A total of 181 women aged 18 to 35 years (mean [SD] age, 22.7 [3.5] years) were included in the analysis (61 women with androgenic COC use, 59 with antiandrogenic COC use, 60 women with a menstrual cycle not taking COCs). COC users showed a 12.67% increase in negative affect (95% CI, 6.94%-18.39%), 7.42% increase in anxiety (95% CI, 3.43%-11.40%), and 23.61% increase in mental health symptoms (95% CI, 16.49%-30.73%; P <.001) during the pill pause compared with the active intake phase. The effect size of this change did not differ depending on progestin type (negative affect: F1,117 = 0.30, P =.59; state anxiety: F1,117 = 2.15, P =.15; mental health: F1,117 =.16, P =.69) or ethinylestradiol dose (negative affect: F1,57 =.99, P =.32; state anxiety: F1,57 = 2.30, P =.13; mental health: F1,57 =.14, P =.71) was comparable with mood changes along the menstrual cycle in women with natural cycles (negative affect: F2,175 = 0.13, P =.87; state anxiety: F2,175 = 0.14, P =.32; mental health: F2,175 = 0.65, P =.52). Mood worsening during the pill pause was more pronounced in women with higher baseline depression scores (negative affect increase of 17.95% [95% CI, 7.80%-28.10%] in COC users with higher trait depression [BDI >8]). Emotion recognition performance did not differ between active pill phase and pill pause. Conclusions and Relevance: In this case-control study of long-term COC users, withdrawal from contraceptive steroids during the pill pause was associated with adverse mental health symptoms similar to those experienced by women during menses with withdrawal from endogenous steroids. These results question the use of the pill pause from a mental health perspective. Long-term COC users may benefit more from the mood-stabilizing effects of COCs in cases of continuous intake.
- Subjects
AUSTRIA; RECOGNITION (Psychology); STATE-Trait Anxiety Inventory; STATISTICAL power analysis; HORMONES; CONFIDENCE intervals; CASE-control method; COMPARATIVE studies; PSYCHOLOGICAL tests; ORAL contraceptives; AFFECTIVE disorders; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH funding; ANXIETY; DATA analysis software; MENTAL illness
- Publication
JAMA Network Open, 2023, Vol 6, Issue 9, pe2335957
- ISSN
2574-3805
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35957