Women who use hormonal contraceptives are at increased risk for suicide attempt and suicide. The highest relative risk is seen in adolescent women, a large Danish study indicates. "Women should be aware of this potential adverse effect of hormonal contraception so that they might consider alternatives if they develop depression after starting use of hormonal contraception," MD, Department of Gynecology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, and Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
"Doctors should be a little more careful when they prescribe hormonal contraception to ensure that the woman doesn't have an actual depression or have been treated for depression and/or suicide attempts previously," he added. The study was published online November 17 in the American Journal of Psychiatry . In a previous Danish nationwide prospective cohort study in women and…
