Can oral contraceptives affect our brains?

Oral Contraceptives were first made in the US in the 60's, changing sexual health for all of us. Millions of women around the globe use these hormonal Contraceptive methods, but do we really know the long term effects? It turns out they are still being investigated.

 

Researchers in Austria have found a possible link between oral Contraceptives and brain function.The most common Pills taken by women are the combined Pills, containing oestrogen and progesterone or that just containing progesterone.

 

The study tested women between 20 and 33 years of age on their facial recognition performance, some had never taken the Pill and some have taken it for 0-5 years, or were still taking it.

For 3 seconds they were shown 20 faces of men and women with neutral expressions and asked to say whether the face was male or female.

Half an hour later they were shown another 60 faces of which some were participants from the previous showing and they were asked if they recognised them. They also had MRI scans done of their brains to determine any differences in certain areas.

 

The results showed that the women taking anti-androgen Pills had more grey matter in parts of their brains relating to facial recognition and scored higher on the recognition tests.

However, the experiments did not take into account their age or whether the effects were reversible among other things. Other effects of the long term use of the Contraceptive Pill have also been studied such as depression and a higher risk of bone density loss.

 

Taking the Pill can have some positive side effects that we already know about. It can help to control acne, control reproduction and reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of Contraceptive Pills that have not previously been studied. Be sure to get fully informed about the pros and cons of a Contraceptive method before choosing it.

 

Find out all you need to know about Contraceptives here.