Birth control pill could alter teen moods
THE pill might be bringing the blues to teenage girls. According to a new study, 16-year-old girls taking oral contraceptives reported more crying, sleeping and eating problems than teens of the same age not using oral contraceptives.
The birth control pill first became widely available in 1960, and since its inception researchers have tried to figure out the pill’s effect on a woman’s moods.
“Ours is the first study of this scale to dive deep into the more subtle mood symptoms that occur much more commonly than a depression episode but impact quality of life and are worrying to girls, women and their families,” said co-author Hadine Joffe, MD, vice-chair for research for the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Psychiatry.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the University Medical Center Groningen and Leiden University Medical Center followed 1010 adolescent women aged 16 to 25 for nine years for the study, which was published in JAMA Psychiatry.
The women filled out a survey every three years, answering questions about crying, eating, sleeping, self-harm, suicidal ideation, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, energy, sadness and lack of pleasure. Their responses resulted in a depressive symptom severity score. Although 16-yearolds were found to be at greater risk for depressive symptoms, the research found no overall depressive symptoms in women aged 16 to 25.
Depressive symptoms — such as crying, sleeping and eating issues — can be more subtle than those diagnosed as clinical depression, says the study. But by surveying more than 1000 women over time, investigators were able to collect data on such subclinical symptoms. New York Post