Birth control pills are used by quite 150 million women across the world, with many women beginning to take them during puberty or as teenagers, and researchers from the Ottawa School of Psychology have found that they will have a big impact on mental wellbeing. Birth control pills can negatively affect women’s brain health, consistent with a replacement study out of Canada.
Researchers checked out the brain function between women who had taken oral contraceptives during puberty or in adulthood and people who had never used them, and located that those on the pill were more likely to suffer from stress.
They focused on the consequences of synthetic hormones found within the oral contraceptives, and if that they had any behavioral and neurophysiological effects on the brain.
“We found differences in brain structure and function between oral contraceptive users and non-users.”
Dr. Andra Smith, Full Professor at the School of Psychology
Findings: For women who started using oral contraceptives during puberty or adolescence
1) Negatively arousing stimuli (like images of a gun, car accident, etc) was increased.
2) Does not react to stressors as much as women who started taking oral contraceptives in adulthood.
3) Experience different brain activity during working memory processing of neutral images compared to women who started using oral contraceptives during adulthood.
Another study concluded that long‐term relation between adolescent use of birth control pills and depression risk in adulthood irrespective of current birth control pills use.
Adolescence may be a sensitive period during which oral contraceptive use could increase women’s risk for depression, years after first exposure.
One more study in the same line concluded that the use of hormonal contraception, especially among adolescents, was associated with subsequent use of antidepressants and the first diagnosis of depression, suggesting depression as a potential adverse effect of hormonal contraceptive use. The use of all types of hormonal contraceptives was positively associated with subsequent use of antidepressants and a diagnosis of depression.
It could also provide an insight into why some women develop mood-related disorders following oral contraceptive use. Some women have complained of depression symptoms during oral contraceptive use.
In summary, oral contraceptive use is related to significant structural changes in brain regions implicated in memory and emotional processing. It also alters stress reactivity. The research is not to discourage women from taking oral contraceptives. It is to advise them so that they can make an informed decision.
