Long-term benefits of using birth control pills

Women who take oral contraceptives have a lower risk of ovarian, uterine and bowel cancers.

A study by scientists from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has concluded about the long-term benefits of using birth control pills.

Specifically, scientists conducted a survey of 23,000 women who used combined oral contraceptives and 23,000 who did not.

The women in the pill group were between 20 and 30 years old, and had been taking the pill for 3.5 years. This group had a lower risk of cancer than the group that did not take the pill. The effect of birth control pills on some cancers lasted into the 50s, 60s, and even 70s. This is the time when women have gone through menopause and are often at the highest risk of cancer.

Millions of women around the world use and consider oral contraceptives an effective method in reducing the rate of unwanted pregnancies. Photo: Getty Images/Universal Images Group.

Scientists calculate that women who take the pill have a one-third lower risk of developing ovarian and endometrial cancer than those who have never used the pill. For bowel cancer, the rate is one-fifth.

According to the study, among 100,000 women who took the pill when they were young, 22 developed ovarian cancer, 19 developed endometrial cancer, and 48 developed bowel cancer at some point in their lives. The numbers increased in those who had never taken the pill: 33 developed ovarian cancer, 30 developed endometrial cancer, and 59 developed bowel cancer.

The findings are reassuring to women who regularly use birth control pills and could significantly change how people view the risks and benefits of birth control pills.

The mechanism of action of birth control pills is to inhibit ovulation, through the addition of sex hormones from external sources into the body such as estrogen and progesterone.

Estrogen supplementation can increase the risk of breast and cervical cancer, which is a concern for many people. But research shows that these risks are short-lived and disappear completely within five years of stopping the pill.

“The results of this study provide strong evidence that women will not suffer cancer damage over a long period of time if they use oral contraceptives,” the researchers said.

However, scientists have not yet determined why oral contraceptives reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

According to Zing