Women widely report experiencing severe mood swings and depression while taking oral contraceptives, but the issue has been almost ignored in the scientific literature, according to a report in digital magazine Hazlitt. The manufacturers of Alesse, Yaz, and Tri-Cyclen oral contraceptives have all identified that about one to three percent of women in clinical trials experienced depression, reports Hazlitt, yet very few studies have specifically examined the issue and one even concluded that the drugs alleviate depression slightly.
Hazlitt quotes Australian Monash University researcher Jayashri Kulkarni noting that, “Depression is the most common reason given for discontinuation of OC [oral contraceptive] use, yet the relationship between the OC and depression remains controversial.”
Childless And Miserable (Hazlitt, July 3, 2014)
That isn’t very new, is it? I have a friend who couldn’t take pills due to severe depression on them and I think it’s on the label listed as a side effect…
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” … identified that about one to three percent of women in clinical trials experienced depression …. ”
I thought the prevalence of depressive disorders in the general population was more like 6%?
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6.7% in US in a 12month period. So probably almost everyone over the whole lifetime. Depression is not a disorder, it’s called life.
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