Common contraceptive pill use may have an impact on women’s brain regions that control fear This is the hypothesis suggested by a team of scientists based on the results of a study published in ‘Frontiers in Endocrinology.’ The authors recruited women who used combined hormonal contraceptives (COC), women who had previously used this pill but were not using it at the time of the study, women who had never used any form of hormonal contraception, and men. By comparing these groups, the researchers were able to find out if the use of COC was linked to changes in shape and to see if there were any differences between the sexes. This is important because women are more likely than men to experience anxiety and stress-related illnesses.
The study’s results
The study authors found that these oral contraceptives can change the shape of the brain in the place where fear is processed. Alexandra Brouillard, a researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal and the study’s first author, says that the study showed that healthy women who were using COC at the time of the study had a smaller ventromedial prefrontal cortex than men.
It is believed that this part of the prefrontal cortex supports the regulation of emotions, such as reducing fear signals in a safe situation. The study findings may represent a mechanism through which combined hormonal contraceptives could compromise emotional regulation in women, adds Alexandra Brouillard.
Over 150 million women use oral contraceptives globally, with COCs—which are made of synthetic hormones—being the most widely used kind. The Canadian group set out to look into the immediate and long-term impacts of using these medications. In particular, specialists claim that there is hardly any discussion of the impact of sex hormones on brain development, which persists until early adulthood. It is crucial to do so because the drug is widely used. Since the study reports a reduction in the cortical thickness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in COC users compared to men, this data suggests that these drugs may confer a risk factor for deficits in emotional regulation during use, Brouillard said. The researchers also note that the impact may be reversible once the intake is stopped.
Since the thinning effect of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was not observed in women who had previously used the pill, according to the authors, the study does not support the thesis of lasting anatomical effects. All of this, they emphasize, will need to be confirmed in further studies. There is still much to learn, as the scientists point out. Brouillard and colleagues are currently studying the impact of the age of onset and the duration of pill use. They also highlight the limitations of the current work.
They point out that a causal relationship between the use of COCs and brain morphology cannot be implied, and the generalization of their results to a general population may be limited. The researchers also caution that it is not possible to draw conclusions from the anatomical findings about behavioural and psychological impact.
The aim of the study is not to oppose the use of COCs, but it is important to be aware that the pill can have an effect on the brain. The goal is to increase scientific interest in women’s health and raise awareness about the early prescription of COCs and brain development, a highly unknown topic, says Brouillard.
