Combined contraceptive pills 'increase risk of blood clots'

Conclusion It is already well known that the combined oral contraceptive pill ("the pill") is associated with increased risk of venous blood clots. It is also already known that risk can differ according to the type of progestogen in the pill. This study adds further evidence helping to quantify these risks. The study has numerous strengths. It has used two large GP databases covering large samples of the UK population, and containing reliable information on medical diagnoses and prescriptions made. The analyses were also adjusted for various confounders known to be associated with risk of blood clots. It demonstrates pill use in the previous year almost tripled risk of venous blood clot, with risk generally higher with the newer pills than the older ones – though there were some exceptions. Encouragingly, preparations containing levonorgestrel – which is by far the most common pill prescribed – had the lowest associated risk; around six extra cases of blood clot for every 10,000 women prescribed. The preparations associated with the highest risks in this study – desogestrel, gestodene, drospirenone and cyproterone – were already recognised to be linked to higher risk, though this study has helped to better quantify these risks. These are not usually pill preparations of first choice in practice and are normally used when there are specific indications (e.g. women who have acne, particularly those taking cyproterone), or who have had side effects with oth...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Source Type: news