Correlates of oral contraceptive use in two New England communities: 1981-1993.

This study compared the sociodemographic and cardiovascular correlates of oral contraceptive users and nonusers between 1981 and 1993. We also sought to determine changes in the prevalence of oral contraceptive use among older premenopausal women. Using data from six biennial cross-sectional household surveys in a population-based sample of two New England communities, 5239 women between ages 18 and 45 years were identified. Women using oral contraceptives were 5 years younger and better educated than nonusers, and users more frequently reported a per capita income above the median for the survey population than nonusers. Users were more likely to report smoking and have a lower body mass index than nonusers. Little use of oral contraceptives was detected among women ages 40-45 years despite changes in FDA recommendations about their use and increasing evidence of their noncontraceptive benefits in healthy older nonsmoking women.

Cardiovascular risk profiles of oral contraceptive users and nonusers: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this population-based study was to evaluate whether women taking oral contraceptive products (OCPs) have more favorable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles than women not taking OCPs. METHODS: Data including sociodemographic variables and CVD risk factors from 5,239 women of reproductive age were gathered in six cross-sectional household surveys. Differences in CVD risk factor profiles between OCP users and nonusers were compared using logistic regression. younger users and older users were compared with nonusers of the same age groups. RESULTS: Women using OCPs (n = 807) were younger and had higher socioeconomic status than nonusers (n = 4,432). More users than nonusers were current smokers (43.1% vs 36.6%, P = 0.0011), had a total serum cholesterol level > or = 240 mg/dl (12.7% vs 6.0%, P = 0.0001), and tended to rate themselves to be at low risk for CVD (48.3% vs 45.5%, P = 0.17). Fewer OCP users than nonusers had an HDL cholesterol level < or = 35 mg/dl (4.0% vs 6.9%, P = 0.0039). CONCLUSIONS: Although they tended to perceive themselves to be at low risk, women taking OCPs in this study had worse CVD risk profiles than women not reporting hormonal contraception and are candidates for cardiovascular risk reduction strategies.