27/09/2023
European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress – Barcelona conference
Many contraceptive pills follow a 21-day cycle of pill consumption, followed by a 7-day break. Recent research reveals that women experience a deterioration in mood during these 7 pill-free days. This study's findings are set to be presented at the ECNP congress in Barcelona on October 8th, following its publication in JAMA Network Open on September 27th, 2023 (please refer to the Reference section).
Lead researcher, Professor Belinda Angela
Pletzer (of Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria) said “We investigated women’s mental health during the
pill pause in long-term pill users: since they are long-term users, this means
that they tolerate the pill very well. We found that during the pill pause women’s mood worsens and they
display similar mental health symptoms to those women display during
menstruation when they are not on hormonal contraceptives”.
Between April 2021 and June 2022, a group of researchers examined a total of 120 women who were taking various oral contraceptive pills, along with 60 women who were not using any contraception. These women underwent mood assessments twice a month through validated questionnaires. The results revealed that women using oral contraceptives experienced a 7% rise in anxiety scores and a 13% increase in negative feelings scores during the 7-day break from the pill.
Belinda
Pletzer continued “We don’t exactly know the mechanism behind this change, we are working on
unpicking this just now. It is unclear, whether the change is a direct effect
of hormone withdrawal or due
to the physical side effects of the withdrawal bleeding which happens when you stop
the daily pill. Oral contraceptives are very widely used, with up to half of younger
women using them in parts of Northern Europe. Like any medicinal product, there
are side-effects, but there are also non-contraceptive benefits.
It seems
that long-term users, who tolerate their pill well, benefit from
mood-stabilizing effects when they are actively taking the pill. In practical
terms it may mean that, if women notice a mood worsening during their
“pill pause” they should consult with their doctor about adjusting their pill
cycles”.
Commenting, Professor Inger Sundström Poromaa (Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Uppsala, Sweden), who was not involved in this work, said: “Many women prefer not to have withdrawal bleeding while on hormonal contraceptives. Professor Pletzler’s study provides important and additional evidence why pill-free intervals of hormonal contraceptives can be skipped”.
This work will be
presented at the ECNP Congress on Sunday 8th October.
References
[1] The conference abstract for
this work, “Oral contraceptives impact on cognition in healthy women” (B. Pletzer) can be seen at https://www.ecnp.eu/congress2023/ECNPcongress/programme/programme#!abstractdetails/0000526150
[2] Noachtar IA, Frokjaer VG, Pletzer B. Mental Health Symptoms in Oral Contraceptive Users During Short-Term Hormone Withdrawal. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Sep 5;6(9):e2335957. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35957.
Notes
None of the comments in this
press release appear in the published paper.
This
work is presented at the 36th
European College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual conference, which takes
place in Barcelona and online from 7th-10th October, see https://www.ecnp.eu/Congress2023/ECNPcongress. Up to
5000 delegates are expected to attend. The ECNP is Europe’s main organisation
working in applied neuroscience.
Autor: Eduardo Martin Ruiz