We have all heard warnings that the pill increases the risk of heart problems.
Well maybe not: British scientists who claim that women who use contraceptives can actually expect to live longer.
The study, published freely online in the British Medical Journal, found that the pill reduced the women’s risk of death from bowel cancer by 38% and from other diseases by about 12% reported Medical News Today.
Researcher by the Royal College of General Physicians in the United Kingdom followed over 46,000 women over forty years old who took the pill. They then compared the mortality rate to women who did not take the pill.
They found that the birth-control pills are not linked to long-term health risks from cancer or heart disease.
However, the scientists claim there is a negligibly higher risk of younger women suffering heart attack, stroke or breast and cervical cancers while taking the pill, reports the Deccan Chronicle.
The death rate among women on the pill under age 30 was slightly higher compared with the other women, the trend began to reverse by age 50.
There were 20 more deaths per 100,000 among women younger than 30 who took the Pill, and four more deaths per 100,000 among those aged 30-39.
Any adverse side effects disappear within ten years of stopping taking it, and can be countered by a healthy lifestyle and regular checkups. By age 50, there were 14 fewer deaths per 100,000 among those aged 40-49, and an even greater effect among older women.
“We know that the pill does cause changes in clotting factors and some of the factors in biochemistry, so the increased risk of heart disease and stroke is explainable” said Professor Hannaford at the University of Aberdeen who led the study.
“The way to minimise the risk is that you don’t smoke, have your blood pressure measured regularly, attend the cervical screening programme and maintain a healthy diet and exercise. That will make your risk very low, and there are also benefits.”
Although unable to offer any theories about cause and effect, over a lifetime, women who took the Pill at any stage were less likely to die from any cause than those who did not.
“Our best estimate is that if you took a group of 100,000 women, and they used the pill for a year, on average you would have 52 fewer deaths in those women compared to those using other forms of contraception,” he said.
However, it is possible that the beneficial effects may only be true for women who have taken older-style pills and not the newer differently formulated drugs.
The pill wwas associated with a increased risk of breast or cervical cancer, but could reduce chances of developing ovarian, bowel or endometrial cancer, he said.
The study has been published in the ‘British Medical Journal’.
Past research has found that the pill does not increase the risk of dying, and while it has the potential to protect against ovarian and endometrial cancer, it may raise the chances of breast and cervical cancer, reported the AP/Globe,
