Women and Mental Health | Hormonal Contraception Linked With Higher Suicide Rates

Women and Mental Health | Use of hormonal contraception may increase the risk of suicide in women, especially in adolescents,

..suggests a prospective cohort study published online in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Researchers reached the finding after assessing hormonal contraceptive use, suicide attempts, and completed suicides among nearly half a million women age 15 to 33 in Denmark with no psychiatric diagnoses, antidepressant use, or prior suicide attempts. The study period spanned 1996 through 2013.

The relative risk among current and recent users of hormonal contraceptives was 1.97 for suicide attempt and 3.08 for suicide, compared with women who never used hormonal contraceptives, researchers found. Risk estimates for suicide attempt were 1.91 for oral combined estrogen and progestin products, 2.29 for oral progestin-only products, 2.58 for the vaginal ring, and 3.28 for the patch.

The link between hormonal contraceptive use and an initial suicide attempt peaked after 2 months of use, according to the study, and remained doubled or more until 1 year after starting use. Risk estimates decreased afterward but were still higher after more than 7 years of use, compared with no use of hormonal contraception.

The relative risk of suicide attempt with use of any hormonal contraception was for 2.06 for women age 15 to 19, 1.61 for age 20 to 24, and 1.64 for age 25 to 33.

“Our data indicate that adolescent women are more sensitive than older women to the influence of hormonal contraceptive on risk of a first suicide attempt,” a Psychiatric News Alert report quoted from the study. Researchers hypothesized this may be due to the fact that “adolescent women are particularly vulnerable to risk factors for suicide attempt.”

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