Association of Major Depression With Oral Contraceptive Pill Use

Women who take oral contraceptive pills (OCP) have a lower prevalence of major depression when compared with former users and those who have never used OCP,  according to a recent cross-sectional study. Additionally, those who currently use OCP were significantly less likely to report depression than those who formerly used OCP.

Researchers sought to determine the association between major depression and OCP use among women in the United States. The study was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2012. The Patient Health Questionnarie-9 was used to define major depression, with a score of 10 or greater.

In total, 6239 women aged 18 to 55 years were included in the study’s analysis. The researchers found that women currently using OCP had a lower prevalence of major depression (4.6%; 95% CI, 3.2 – 6.6) compared with former users of OCP (11.4%; 95% CI, 10.1 – 12.9) and women who never used OCP (10%; 95% CI, 8.3 – 12.1). After adjusting for potential confounders, current users were significantly less likely to report depression than current users (odds ratio 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39 – 0.90).

Although the researchers found that the risk of developing major depression was lower among current OCP users, they noted that the burden of depression in the United States remains high.

“Further research with longitudinal follow-up for depression in women using OCP is needed to understand real world effect of the OCP on depression,” the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Gawronska J, Meads C, Smith L, Cao C, Wang N, Walker S. Association of oral contraceptive pill use and depression among US women. J Affect Disord. 2024;344:132-140. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.041