Hormone pill users are more likely to be depressed

WOMEN taking hormonal contraceptives may be at increased risk of depression, especially from skin patches, a study has found.

Data from more than a million women in Denmark showed those on the most popular type of pill were 23 per cent more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than non-users.

Contraceptive patches delivering a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone doubled the risk, while the ring and coil raised it by 60 and 40 per cent.

Teenagers on the Pill appeared to be more vulnerable than older women.

Scientists suspect a link with progesterone, which has been shown to have a negative effect on mood during the menstrual cycle.

The Danish researchers, led by Dr Ojvind Lidegaard, from the University of Copenhagen, wrote in the journal Jama Psychiatry: “Further studies are warranted to examine depression as a potential adverse effect of hormonal contraceptive use.”

One British expert said the study raised “important questions” while another urged women not to be alarmed by the findings.

For the study, researchers analyseddatafrommorethan a million teenage girls and adult women aged 15 to 34.

Over six years, participants taking combined oral contraceptives containing a mixture of hormones were shown to be 23 per cent more likely than non-users to be treated with antidepressants for the first time.

Users of progestin-only pills that rely on synthetic progesterone had a 34 per cent increased risk. Women using contraceptive patches, also containing progestin, were twice as much at risk.