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Reproductive endocrinology

The emotional cost of contraception

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 13, pages 7–9 (2017)Cite this article

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The link between mood disorders and hormonal fluctuations has long been known, but the direction of this correlation has been questioned. New research suggests that initiation of hormonal contraception leads to increased risk of first-time diagnosis of or treatment for depression over a short time frame, particularly for adolescents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank S. Hoeppner, Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts, USA, for her assistance with statistical analyses. This work was supported by NIH (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)) T32HL007374 and a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Psychiatry Junior Faculty fund (R.A.R.), and by NIH (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)) R01 HD019938, R01 HD082314 and K12 HD051959 (U.B.K.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rachel A. Ross is at the Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 and the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1 Bowdoin Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.,

    Rachel A. Ross

  2. Ursula B. Kaiser is at the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,

    Ursula B. Kaiser

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  1. Rachel A. Ross
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Correspondence to Ursula B. Kaiser.

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Ross, R., Kaiser, U. The emotional cost of contraception. Nat Rev Endocrinol 13, 7–9 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.194

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