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 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The beneficial effects of combined estrogen-progestin-containing oral contraceptives (OCs) include prevention of pregnancy (less than 1 failure out of 100 regular users); the prevention of ectopic pregnancy; the reduction of preeclampsia (2.4 times lower risk compared with barrier methods); and reduction of pelvic inflammation to about one-half. The effects on menstruation include the reduction of sideropenic anemia (by lowering the incidence and duration of menstruation, OCs reduce the loss of iron to 50% or to as much as 33%); dysmenorrhea by 40% (symptoms receded in 90% of users); and premenstrual syndrome by 30%. OCs exert a favorable effect on menstrual epilepsy; reduce sports-related accidents in the premenstrual and menstrual periods; and reduce intermenstrual bleeding. The protection from cancer includes the lowering of endometrial cancer risk (every 2 years of use reduces the risk by 38%, 12 years of use by 70%, and the beneficial effects last 3-15 years); reduction of the risk of the ovarian cancer (already 3-6 months of use reduces the risk by 30%, and more than 5 years by 50% in women under 50 years of age with a longterm effect of 10 years or more, which drops sharply in women over 60 who are mostly at risk). Among other beneficial effects, they reduce benign mastopathy by 50-75%; reduce the risk of follicular ovarian cysts to 50% and the risk of corpus luteal ovarian cysts to 1/5; and they lessen bone loss which favorably affects osteoporosis. Low-dose OCs minimize the well-known risks of thrombotic and cerebrovascular accidents, myocardial infarction, hypertension, altered carbohydrate metabolism, gallbladder diseases, and liver cancer. A new OC with 30 mcg of ethinyl estradiol was tested with daily doses of 150 mcg of desogestrel. The high density lipoprotein (HDL) either increased or did not change with desogestrel: the HDL2 subfraction that protects from atherosclerosis did not change, and probably the HDL3 raised the HDL level.
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PMID:[Favorable effects of oral estrogen-progestin contraception]. 181 41

This review on the risks and benefits of oral contraceptives clarifies the risks and misperceptions, and discusses 10 potential health benefits. In the U.S. where maternal mortality is about 20.6/100,000, the risk of death from pills ranges from 1.8 for nonsmokers to 6.5 for smokers. It is likely that most of the small existing mortality risk of pill use is due to thromboembolism. Atherosclerosis, the major cause of death for U.S. women, may be reduced by the pill. It is still controversial whether pills increase risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and malignant melanoma; they protect against endometrial cancer (the 3rd greatest cancer killer) and ovarian (the 4th) cancer; they may increase risk slightly in some subgroups for breast and cervical cancer, although data are conflicting. Pills also protect against ectopic pregnancy, benign breast disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, iron deficiency anemia and possibly uterine fibroids and osteoporosis. It is no longer held that orals protect against toxic shock syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis. It is estimated that oral contraceptives avert 50,000 hospital admissions per year in the U.S.
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PMID:The health effects of oral contraceptives: misperceptions, controversies, and continuing good news. 266 76

The general benefits of the use of methods of contraception are the documented decrease of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity, the diminution of the rate of prematurity and low birth weight, the decrease in induced abortion and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and certain gynecological cancer types. Natural methods of contraception pose the benefit of lacking effects on the organs and not introducing any external factors into the body. Barrier methods provide protection against STDs (a 50% reduction) and against cervical cancer (human papilloma virus), especially for adolescents and those with multiple sex partners. The chemical methods provide local antiseptic and antibiotic action that can be beneficial for vaginal and cervical infections. Hormonal methods, namely the oral contraceptive (OC) pill, also possess noncontraceptive benefits: regulation of the menstrual cycle, including diminution of dysmenorrhea, menstrual pain, menstrual flow, and anemia; reduced risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, endometrial and ovarian cancer, benign breast pathology, acne, and hirsutism; in addition to the therapy of polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypothalamic amenorrhea, and dysfunctional hemorrhage. Further benefits include the decrease of the risk of osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis by 60% in families at risk, ectopic pregnancy, atherosclerosis, uterine myomas by up to 31%, and ovarian cysts. Contraceptives that contain progestational hormones (oral, injectable, implant, or IUD forms) are also beneficial for endometrial hyperplasia and uterine polyps. IUDs (except for progestational IUDs) have local effect without the potential side effects of hormones. Terminal methods of contraception (tubal ligation and ligation of the vas deferens) are reliable without causing alterations in the physiology of the organs.
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PMID:[Non-contraceptive benefits of contraception]. 1217 57