Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0034065 (pulmonary embolism)
 14,979 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sexual activity is quite common among women aged 14 to 20 in developed countries, averaging perhaps 10% at age 15 to about 70% at 19. Thus, the need for contraception may begin quite early in life and will continue for as long as 30 years. One of the best candidates for long-term contraception for young sexually active females is the oral contraceptive (OC), which provides health benefits besides contraception. Long-term benefits include lowered rates of ovarian and endometrial cancer, as well as of benign breast disease and ovarian cysts. Another benefit is protection against upper-tract sequelae of sexually transmitted diseases. Short-term benefits are correction of menstrual irregularity, reduction in menstrual flow, and diminished premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea. Recent OC formulations contain only one-third the estrogenic potency of older OCs and therefore are associated with dramatic decreases in what were always the major side effects of OCs: heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism. Other side effects of OCs have been most closely associated with the progestogenic component, and are related to the androgenic effects of progestins, particularly some synthetic progestins. However, some new synthetic progestins have been found to have minimal androgen receptor activity in preclinical testing and to cause minimal or no androgen-related side effects in clinical trials. One of these new progestins having a favorable androgenic profile is norgestimate. Its efficacy and safety in combination with low doses of ethinyl estradiol have been documented in the European and the American literature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The androgenicity of oral contraceptives: the young patient's concerns. 136 88

The use of oral contraceptives (OC) by an estimated 150 million women worldwide has prompted concern about their potential risks. But, there are also health conditions--medical and surgical disorders, reproductive tract cancers, and menstruation disorders--that oral contraceptives affect beneficially. OC users have a lower risk of iron deficiency anemia, an important consideration for nutritionally deficient women. The risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease is also decreased in OC users, as is the risk of ectopic pregnancy. This is important for women in developing countries, where access to medical services for a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy might be limited. Using OCs lowers the incidence of surgery for benign breast disease, the incidence of retention cysts of the ovary, the risk of endometrial cancer, the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, and relieves symptoms of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome. The risks associated with OC use, including stroke and heart attack, vary among age groups, smoking status, and other cardiovascular risk factors. For example, elevated serum cholesterol is lower among women in developing countries, so the associated risk of heart attack is lower for these women. Other complications associated with OC use are deep-vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, gallbladder disease, and hepatic adenoma. There is controversy about whether OC use increases the risk of cervical neoplasia. Studies that have attempted to define this risk are subject to methodological problems, in that increased surveillance of OC users results in a higher rate of detection. Some controversy exists about OC use and an increased risk of breast cancer, but no definitive results are available. Although the risks associated with OC use can be serious, these risks are only slightly higher among OC users compared with non-users. The benefits, such as reduced risk of serious diseases and gynecological disorders, seem to outweigh the risks, pointing to the need for accurate communication between health professionals and the women they advise about contraceptive choices.
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PMID:Beyond contraception: the health benefits and risks of the pill. 1231 33