A 2016 JAMA Psychiatry study analysed data on more than a million Danish women aged 15 to 34. Women using combined pills were prescribed an antidepressant for the first time 1.23 times more often, and those using progestogen-only pills 1.34 times more often, than non-users. The association was strongest in teenagers: 1.8 and 2.2 times, respectively. In 2018, the same group found that women using hormonal contraception had a relative risk of a first suicide attempt about 1.97 times higher, with the strongest association about two months after starting.
How to read these numbers
These are observational studies: they show an association but do not prove that contraception itself causes depression. Relative risk is not absolute risk, so most women who use contraception do not develop depression, and for many contraception is safe and beneficial.
What this means for you
- If you notice mood changes after starting contraception, tell your doctor: there are alternatives.
- Watch how you feel especially closely in the first months, and don’t stop contraception suddenly without talking to your doctor.
- If you have thoughts of harming yourself, seek help immediately.
Sources
- Skovlund C. W., Mørch L. S., Kessing L. V., Lidegaard Ø. (2016). Association of hormonal contraception with depression. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(11), 1154–1162. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2387
- Skovlund C. W., Mørch L. S., Kessing L. V., Lange T., Lidegaard Ø. (2018). Association of hormonal contraception with suicide attempts and suicides. American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(4), 336–342. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060616