A new study published by the respected journal, The Lancet, has revealed more than the expected benefits of oral contraceptive medications. One main benefit, according to the study, is that oral contraceptive use for five years can have a tremendous effect on the health of a woman as she ages, becoming more vulnerable to endometrial-uterine cancers.
Two of the claims made by the study is that endometrial cancer risks can be reduced by the use of oral contraceptives and that oral contraceptives can also provide long-term protection against uterine cancers.
Scientists attached to the Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies on Endometrial Cancer reviewed data concerning over 27,000 women globally to gauge the length of time oral contraceptives can protect against cancer. They put forth the supposition that the results, when considered with their knowledge of past usage patterns, indicate that in upper-income countries, some 400,000 cases of endometrial cancers have been avoided with 200,000 of those cases happening in the past decade alone. They also state that the protection continues when women no longer take oral contraceptives with their being no bearing contraception type or dosage of estrogen.
While scientists don’t yet fully understand how contraceptive pills work to prevent endometrial cancer, it is clear that this discovery could have a significant impact on women of color. Risk factors for endometrial cancer include diabetes, high blood pressure, and specifically obesity. All of these risk factors are all ongoing health issues for African-American women.
Medication can come with side effects risks; and oral contraceptives can increase the risks of blood clots, raise cholesterol levels, cause migraines, and more. On the other hand, the benefits traditionally associated with taking the pill are reducing heavy bleeding, anemia, acne, and more.
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