title: Do oral contraceptives increase blood pressure and serum total cholesterol in young women?
abstract: The effects of the use of oral contraceptives on serum lipids and blood pressure were studied among young women who participated in a longitudinal survey of risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in the Netherlands. Fifty-three participants, ages 14 to 24 years, initiated oral contraceptive use during follow-up to the primary study on CHD. They continued oral contraceptive use for at least 2 subsequent years. From 53 age-matched control subjects, who did not use oral contraceptives, data were obtained for the same follow-up period. Women using oral contraceptives showed a significantly greater rise in serum total cholesterol levels than did the reference subjects (14 mg/100 ml/2 year vs 4 mg/100 ml/2 year; 95% confidence interval of the difference was 0.1 to 19.6). The increase in systolic blood pressure (4.7 mm Hg/2 year vs 2.1 mm Hg/2 year; 95% confidence interval of the difference was -1.8 to 6.9) did not differ between the groups. These findings suggest that oral contraceptive use may be associated with an enhanced rise in total cholesterol during adolescence.
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus University Medical School, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: W A
authors: WA
authors: van Stiphout
authors: D E
authors: DE
authors: Grobbee
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Hofman
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: de Bruijn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral