In adults, the effects and possible side effects of the use of oral contraceptives have been well studied. Scientists from Innsbruck have now investigated important parameters for the heart and circulation in connection with the use of the ‘pill’ in young people. An important finding: the young women had a significantly higher cholesterol level than non-users of oral contraceptives.
Anna Staudt from the Innsbruck University Children’s Hospital (Pediatrics II) and her co-authors investigated the potential influence of hormonal contraception on lipid metabolism – in many respects crucial in the long term for atherosclerosis and thus for cardiovascular disease – as part of the large “Early Vascular Ageing-Tyrol Study” (EVA-Tirol; North, East and South Tyrol). “Oral contraceptives are among the most commonly used contraceptive measures in adults and adolescents. “Yet the effects of oral contraceptives on blood lipid levels in adolescents have not yet been well studied,” the scientists wrote in the “Journal of Adolescent Health.”
The effect is already known in adults
The gaps in knowledge sound astonishing. After all, according to the scientists, “In Austria, 52 percent of female adolescents between the ages of 16 and 20 report using oral contraceptives as a method of contraception.” In adult women, the use of the ‘pill’ has been associated with increased blood triglyceride concentrations. The findings on the influence of hormonal contraception on ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol were partly contradictory.
As part of the now published study, blood lipid levels (cholesterol, triglycerides) and use of the ‘pill’ were determined twice between 2015 and 2018 in 14- to 19-year-old participants in the EVA study. increased over an average interval of 22 months. A total of 828 young middle-aged women aged 17 years were included. 317 (38 percent) reported using oral contraceptives (OCs). “OC users had slightly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure values (…) and were more likely to smoke than non-users of oral contraceptives,” the scientists wrote.
There were significant differences in blood lipid levels: the young women taking the ‘pill’ had an average of 179.6 milligrams of total cholesterol per deciliter of blood, significantly higher values than subjects not taking hormonal contraceptives (162.4 milligrams per deciliter of blood). deciliter of blood). There were also significant differences in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol of 106.4 milligrams per deciliter (‘pill users’) and 94.6 milligrams per deciliter (not taking hormonal contraceptives). However, ‘good’ HDL blood fat levels were about the same.
“Consider when advising”
In any case, these findings should be included in advice and education for young women who are considering using the pill. The scientists from Innsbruck: “We have demonstrated an association (independent of other factors; note) between the use of hormonal contraception and blood lipid levels and their changes over time in a large group of healthy female adolescents. These changes are particularly relevant for adolescents with additional risk factors for disorders of blood lipid metabolism or other cardiovascular risk factors.”
Cardiovascular diseases based on vascular calcification etc. develop over the years and are usually based on a combination of several dangerous factors, such as high blood lipid levels, high blood pressure, lack of exercise, obesity and diabetes. According to scientific studies, between eight and seventeen percent of young people in Europe, the US and Africa have elevated blood lipid and/or blood pressure levels.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
