ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2023
Population-based cohort study of oral contraceptive use and risk of depression.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of combined oral contraceptives and progestin-only pills on psychological and sexual well-being of women with endometriosis: A systematic review.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Pooled it
- Adolescent Hormonal Contraceptive Use in the Context of Brain Development and Depression Risk: A Review and Considerations for Future Research.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Review
- Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Self-Reported Ongoing Medication Use Among Pharmacy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Qualitative exploration of using hormonal contraception on mental health and wellbeing: Diverse experiences and a call for more support.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Early identification of major depression risk among reproductive-age women using hormonal contraceptives in southern Ethiopia: A Machine Learning Approach.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Poor mood after oral contraceptive use is associated with increased vulnerability to peripartum depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and higher genetic risk for depression.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Hormonal contraception and mental health: a narrative review of screening, monitoring, and patient-centered care for family physicians.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Menopausal hormone therapy and risk of neuropsychiatric disease: a drug target Mendelian randomisation study.npj women's health · 2026Article
- Comparison of Dermatologic and Neuropsychological Side Effects of Oral Contraceptives, 2016-2020.Open access journal of contraception · 2026Article
- Research Review: Are sampling biases masking long-term effects of hormonal contraceptive use in adolescence on risk for depression?Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Review
- Anxiety, depression and perseverative cognition in women cycling naturally or taking oral contraceptives - a diary study.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Effect of combined oral contraceptive use on verbal memory function in healthy women.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Article
- Detection of Problems Related to Hormonal Contraceptives in Community Pharmacy: Application of a Structured Questionnaire in Women of Childbearing Age.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Use of systemic hormonal contraception and risk of depression: a registry-based study from Finland.European journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Women's reproductive mental health: currently available evidence and future directions for research, clinical practice and health policy.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Twin pair analysis uncovers links between DNA methylation, mitochondrial DNA quantity and obesity.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The impact of ovulation-suppressing contraceptives on behavioral and functional difficulties in borderline personality disorder.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The link between sex hormones and depression over a woman's lifespan (Review).Biomedical reports · 2025Review
- Steroid hormone levels vary with sex, aging, lifestyle, and genetics.Science advances · 2025Article
- Associations between oral hormonal contraceptives and internalising problems in adolescent girls.BJPsych open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimResearch on the effect of oral contraceptive (OC) use on the risk of depression shows inconsistent findings, especially in adult OC users. One possible reason for this inconsistency is the omission of women who discontinue OCs due to adverse mood effects, leading to healthy user bias. To address this issue, we aim to estimate the risk of depression that is associated with the initiation of OCs as well as the effect of OC use on lifetime risk of depression.
methodsThis is a population-based cohort study based on data from 264,557 women from the UK Biobank. Incidence of depression was addressed via interviews, inpatient hospital or primary care data. The hazard ratio (HR) between OC use and incident depression was estimated by multivariable Cox regression with OC use as a time-varying exposure. To validate causality, we examined familial confounding in 7,354 sibling pairs.
resultsWe observed that the first 2 years of OC use were associated with a higher rate of depression compared to never users (HR = 1.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55-1.88). Although the risk was not as pronounced beyond the first 2 years, ever OC use was still associated with an increased lifetime risk of depression (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.09). Previous OC use were associated with a higher rate of depression compared to never users, with adolescent OC users driving the increased hazard (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.12-1.25). No significant association were observed among adult OC users who had previously used OCs (HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.95-1.04). Notably, the sibling analysis provided further evidence for a causal effect of OC use on the risk of depression.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that the use of OCs, particularly during the first 2 years, increases the risk of depression. Additionally, OC use during adolescence might increase the risk of depression later in life. Our results are consistent with a causal relationship between OC use and depression, as supported by the sibling analysis. This study highlights the importance of considering the healthy user bias as well as family-level confounding in studies of OC use and mental health outcomes. Physicians and patients should be aware of this potential risk when considering OCs, and individualized risk-benefit assessments should be conducted.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.