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ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES: WHERE ARE THE EXCESS DEATHS?
Author(s) -
SHEARMAN RODNEY P.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1981.tb135963.x
Subject(s) - medicine , myocardial infarction , epidemiology , demography , mortality rate , excess mortality , cause of death , developed country , population , environmental health , surgery , disease , sociology
In the 1960s and 1970s a substantial body of data was published indicating an excess death rate, mainly related to a cluster of cardiovascular complications, in women who either were taking or had ever taken oral contraceptives. The epidemiological interpretation of these data has been seriously questioned, and many workers now think that the excess deaths in these women are almost entirely attributable to smoking. In addition, it is clear that the death rate from myocardial infarction in women in Australia, which has declined significantly in the last twelve years, is quite different from that seen in women in the United Kingdom, where the death rate from myocardial infarction continues to increase. The validity of basing warnings, contraindications and advice to patients regarding the use of oral contraceptives on data from different populations should be reconsidered.