Charity welcomes RCGP study

Contraception charity Marie Stopes International has welcomed new evidence that oral contraceptives (OCs) are not associated with increased mortality. It says that fears about OCs may be founded in myths such as ‘there is no evidence that OCs are safe’, and concerned women will be reassured by the new findings.

The latest analysis of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Oral Contraception Study found that, after a follow-up of 39 years, OCs were associated with a significantly overall reduced risk of death (relative risk 0.88; 95% confidence interval 0.82¬–0.93) for ever use compared with never use. Overall mortality was reduced by 52 per 100 000 woman-years. The risk of death was modestly increased in younger women (by 20 per 100 000 under age 30 and by 4 per 100 000 at age 31–39) due to increased circulatory disease, but this was offset by a lower long-term risk of death from cancer.