SynthesisFrontiers in physiology2026
Effect of oral contraceptive use on cardiorespiratory and immune function in premenopausal women involved in exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. 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
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The beneficial effect of regular physical activity across all bodily functions is well known. The use of oral contraceptives (OCs) is highly prevalent among premenopausal women due to their contraceptive efficacy and favorable safety profile. However, the impact of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) in exercise conditions remains controversial and inconclusive. We aim to explore the effects of COCs on cardiorespiratory and immune function in premenopausal women engaged in exercise when compared with non-COC users. Methods: Extensive searches of relevant databases, including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, and other health sources, were conducted on the EBSCOhost interface from January 2024 to May 2026. All studies that included healthy, physically active premenopausal women and female athletes (15-40 years old) on COC and non-COC users were appraised using the relevant JBI appraisal tools. Data analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan) version 5.3. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. Result: The review and meta-analysis included 29 studies comprising 726 participants (recreationally active and trained female athletes) involved in exercise, of whom 390 (53.7%) used COC, and 336 (46.3%) were non-COC users. Overall, 19 studies with a comparator group were included in our meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimates suggest that the use of COC had little to no difference on certain makers of cardiorespiratory and immune function such as heart rate [MD = 0.02, 95% CI (-1.85, 1.9), Conclusion: The current evidence does not demonstrate a consistent detrimental effect of COC use on cardiorespiratory or immune outcomes among physically active premenopausal women; however, confidence in these findings remains limited due to the low certainty of the available evidence. The low certainty of the evidence across the included studies is attributable to small sample sizes, high risk of bias, varied methodological approaches, and a lack of data from specific geographical locations, among other factors. Thus, caution should be exercised when extrapolating these findings for consultation or decision-making regarding COC use in and out of clinical settings. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42021265257, identifier CRD42021265257.
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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.