ArticleContraception and reproductive medicine2025
Oral contraceptive use and its sociocultural determinants in Iranian women: a secondary cross-sectional analysis from the PARS cohort study.
Article in Contraception and reproductive medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study addresses a gap in global research by exploring sociocultural factors and health outcomes related to oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use among middle-aged Iranian women, where non-prescription access is common. It aims to identify determinants of OCP use and its association with chronic diseases in this demographic.
methodsThis study was a secondary cross-sectional analysis which was conducted using baseline data from the Pars Cohort Study, launched in 2012 and included a sample of 4,034 married middle-aged women aged 45–64 years residing in Fars Province, Iran. To evaluate the factors influencing the current use of OCPs as the preferred contraceptive method among married women aged 45–64 years old in our cohort, Poisson regression analysis was employed. This analysis was adjusted for various demographic, reproductive, medical, and behavioral variables.
resultsOverall, 60.5% of women were current OCP users. Usage declined with age and increased with socioeconomic status. Higher use was also linked to Fars ethnicity, obesity, and multiparity. Lower use was associated with literacy and stillbirth history. OCP users tended to marry younger and had fewer postmenopausal years. OCP use was linked to a reduced risk of liver disease. other comorbidities showed no significant associations.
conclusionOCP use remains high among middle-aged Iranian women, influenced by age, SocioEconomic Status (SES), ethnicity, and reproductive history—unlike global trends post-menopause. Non-prescription availability and cultural norms may sustain misconceptions about contraceptive need, highlighting the need for targeted education and policy changes to support informed reproductive health decisions. IMPLICATION: OCP use, as a method of contraception remains high among middle-aged Iranian women, driven by sociocultural factors and non-prescription access. Unlike global trends, the use of OCPs persists post-menopause, indicating gaps in reproductive health literacy, education, and policy reforms are needed necessary support informed contraceptive choices and address disparities in similar low-resource settings. Additionally, efforts to improve reproductive health literacy should include culturally tailored educational campaigns, pharmacist training to ensure informed dispensing of OCPs, and expanded community-based counseling services—especially for peri- and post-menopausal women.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.