Open AccessLong‐Term Treatment with Combined Oral Contraceptives and Cigarette Smoking Associated with Impaired Activity of Tissue Plasminogen Activator
Author(s) -
Kjaeldgaard Anders,
Larsson Bertil
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016348609155174
Subject(s) - medicine , pill , physiology , tissue plasminogen activator , family planning , cigarette smoking , desogestrel , plasminogen activator , gynecology , population , obstetrics , environmental health , research methodology , pharmacology
The fibrinolytic activity in vein walls (FAV) was determined by a semi‐quantitative fibrin slide technique in a group of 68 healthy middle‐aged women consisting of 22 healthy controls, 19 non‐smoking contraceptive pill users and 27 cigarette‐smoking non‐users. Significantly decreased FAV was demonstrated in pill users because of high frequency of low values among women using combined oral contraceptives (OC) for more than 5 years. Significantly lower FAV was also recorded in smoking non‐users, among whom low FAV values were found mainly in heavy smokers. However, no effect of OC usage for less than 5 years was observed, neither did smoking of less than 10 cigarettes daily influence FAV. Thus, the two well‐known risk groups with respect to circulatory diseases, long‐term contraceptive users and heavy smokers, included the vast majority of middle‐aged women with impaired plasminogen activator activity.