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Monday, July 27, 2009
The Birth Control Pill may be Less Effective in Obese Women
New research shows that oral contraceptives may behave differently in the bodies of women who are obese, than in normal-weight women, thus suggesting that birth control pills may not work well in preventing pregnancy. According to the study published in the journal, Contraception, researchers say that there has been some evidence to suggest that the birth control pills may be less effective in obese women, but finding have not been consistent.
Researchers assigned twenty 18 to 35- year- old women, none of whom were using oral contraceptives, to take birth control for two cycles. Half of the women were obese, with body mass indexes above 30, while the other half were normal weight and had body mass indexes below 25. The women took pills containing ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic hormone used to regulate ovulation.
For the obese women, it took about 10 days of taking the pill for their blood levels of levonorgestrel to reach the optimum steady-state concentration for suppressing ovulation compared to about 5 days for the normal-weight women.
“The longer time to reach steady-state levels of levonorgestrel may represent a window of opportunity for the ovary to prepare to release an egg”, said research overseer Dr. Allison B. Edelman of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She further added that for one of the obese women it took 20 days to reach the steady state level, suggesting that ovulation may never have been adequately suppressed.
In spite of these findings, according to Edelman, “Additional studies are needed before [researchers can] recommend a change in clinical practice regarding the use of oral contraceptives in obese women.
Researchers assigned twenty 18 to 35- year- old women, none of whom were using oral contraceptives, to take birth control for two cycles. Half of the women were obese, with body mass indexes above 30, while the other half were normal weight and had body mass indexes below 25. The women took pills containing ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic hormone used to regulate ovulation.
For the obese women, it took about 10 days of taking the pill for their blood levels of levonorgestrel to reach the optimum steady-state concentration for suppressing ovulation compared to about 5 days for the normal-weight women.
“The longer time to reach steady-state levels of levonorgestrel may represent a window of opportunity for the ovary to prepare to release an egg”, said research overseer Dr. Allison B. Edelman of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She further added that for one of the obese women it took 20 days to reach the steady state level, suggesting that ovulation may never have been adequately suppressed.
In spite of these findings, according to Edelman, “Additional studies are needed before [researchers can] recommend a change in clinical practice regarding the use of oral contraceptives in obese women.
Labels: birth control, body mass index, hormones, obesity, pregnancy, pregnant
posted by
Chavon Williams
at
11:41 AM
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