Doctors say recent research on the risks of hormonal birth control underscores the difficulty of communicating nuance in the social media age as misinformation about women’s health spreads more quickly than ever.
The study, which was conducted in Sweden and tracked more than 2 million teenage girls and women under the age of 50 for more than ten years, found that despite the hormones used in the formula, there are still some small differences in the risk of breast cancer.
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Additionally, the researchers observed a small, quick rise in recent or current breast cancer diagnoses. These findings are in line with previous significant studies, such as a , a , and a , 2023 meta-analysis.
It appeared online in JAMA Oncology on October 30.
Doctors claim that women should continue using birth control and that these study findings won’t affect how they advise patients.
However, TikTok is flooded with fact-incomplete warnings that contraceptives are just as dangerous as smoking. Reproductive health advocates warn against the condensed impact of studies like this on the internet, which can be easily taken out of context, taken out of context, and smeared as a single alarming number.
For instance, according to the study, women who used hormonal birth control had a 24% higher breast cancer rate than those who didn’t. However, because younger women are still less likely to have breast cancer, the figure increases from 54 to 67 cases per 100 000 women annually, or about one case per 800 hormonal contraceptives users per year.
The risk is greatest when using up the current state and diminishing within five to ten years, according to co-authors Asa Johansson and Fatemeh Hadizadeh, both of whom are epidemiologists from Uppsala University.
That kind of nuance, according to Rachel Fey, interim co-CEO of Power to Decide, a group whose goal is to provide accurate information on sexual health and contraception.
Because it’s meant to scare people away from birth control, which has greatly improved my life, I get really upset, she said. It’s “extremely frustrating,” especially when presented in its absence. And then, in this era of social media, it can simply start spreading without anyone having any idea what it’s talking about.
The researchers also found that the risk for some progestins, such as desogestrel, was slightly higher with some, such as those found in Cyred EQ, Reclipsen, Azurette, and Pimtrea, but not with others, such as medroxyprogesterone acetate injections sold under the name DepoProvera.
How to interpret the findings
Because the study included both invasive breast cancers and early noninvasive lesions known as in situ tumours, growths that may never lead to life-threatening, according to some experts, the results should be analyzed with caution. The overall risk of clinically significant disease may appear higher than it actually is if these precancerous cases are included.
A significant portion of the “cases” never developed into invasive breast cancer, according to Lina S. Morch, a senior researcher and team leader at the Danish Cancer Institute. The Swedish study did not involve Morch. Before imposing new regulations or warnings about a particular hormone, she added that experts should wait for more information to come out about how early-stage and advanced cancers differ.
The doctor-patient exchange
For most patients, the study confirms what they already discussed in the exam room, and that decisions should be made according to each woman’s needs and values, even as scientists debate how to interpret the data’s more nuanced details.
At Boston Medical Center, Katharine White, the chief of obstetrics and gynecology, said this study won’t alter how she interacts with her patients.
In an email, White writes, “When advising patients about their contraceptive options, I pay particular attention to their previous experiences with birth control, their medical history, and what’s important to them regarding their birth control method and pregnancy planning (if applicable).” “My counseling on hormonal and non-hormonal methods already includes a significant portion of the side effects and risks of methods,” says Dr. J.
Other doctors noted that there are other ways to use birth control.
The copper IUD offers safe, convenient, highly effective contraception for over a decade after placement, and is quickly reversible when pregnant, according to Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, the chief of general internal medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. It is a type of long-acting intrauterine device that is known as “for those who prefer hormone-free contraception.”
This was a significant, high-quality study that examined a variety of hormones over a long period of time, according to Mary Rosser, director of Integrated Women’s Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. However, she continued, “Medicals shouldn’t yet change their advice.”
The outcomes should serve as a guide for shared decision-making, Johansson and Hadizadeh asserted. They said, “It may be reasonable to take into account formulations with lower observed risk in our data.” They noted that desogestrel-only contraceptives should be avoided if other options are available, and that products containing medroxyprogesterone acetate, drospirenone, or levonorgestrel were linked to lower risk.
Keeping the risk in perspective
Beyond preventing pregnancy, hormone birth control has a number of health advantages. After stopping, it can ease endometriosis pain, lighten long periods, and reduce the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers for years. Even the smallest risks, according to Morch, are worth discussing, but making decisions should be influenced by women’s “values and preferences.”
White emphasized the importance of having a holistic view. Any risks of birth control must be weighed against the risk of an unexpected pregnancy, she wrote, because “people who don’t use contraception have an 85 percent chance of an unintended pregnancy.”
