Effects of low-dose contraceptive pills on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases among 15-35-year-old women: A retrospective cohort

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases could be preventable; as a result, understanding the risk factors was regarded as the major priority for healthcare providers. Objective: The main objective of this research was to achieve a deeper insight into the effect of long-term use of low-dose oral contraceptive pills (OCP) on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Materials and Methods: This research was a retrospective cohort conducted (historical and prospectively) conducted on 100 women with normal menstrual cycles aged 15 to 35 yr, who were referred to the healthcare centers in Yazd, Iran. The participants were categorized into two groups: The OCP group was consuming the pills for 3, 4-23, and 24-36 months, and the non-OCP group. Participants were followed up for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of six months. Results: The highest level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), homocysteine, cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and systolic blood pressure was observed in the OCP group in the duration of 24 to 36 months. The Tukey’s test demonstrated that there were comprehensible differences in the LDL (p = 0.01), cholesterol (p = 0.01), triglyceride (p < 0.001), and homocysteine levels (p < 0.001), also systolic blood pressure (p = 0.04). Conclusion: It was realized that the long-term consumption of low-dose OCP can augment the incidence of some risk factors (systolic blood pressure, homocysteine levels, cholesterol, LDL-c, and triglyceride) and lead to developing cardiovascular diseases amongst the healthy women. Key words: Birth control pills, Homocysteine, Nitric oxide, Dyslipidemias, Coronary artery diseases.