This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Oral contraceptives not linked to UC progression
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Oral contraceptive use does not appear associated with progression of ulcerative colitis, according to a study published in “The Negative Issue” of the American Journal of Gastroenterology, a special edition focusing on what physicians should not do in clinical practice.
While researchers previously found long-term oral contraceptive use is associated with risk for and progression of Crohn’s disease, data on oral contraceptives and ulcerative colitis are limited. Therefore, researchers identified 6,104 women with ulcerative colitis (aged 16-51 years) within the Swedish National Patient Register, and followed the cases from 2003 through 2014 to determine if oral contraceptive use was associated with need for surgery, steroid use or anti-TNF use.
Over 31,421 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up, 60 months), 162 initial UC-related surgeries occurred, and neither current nor past oral contraceptive use was associated with an increased risk for UC-related surgery, irrespective of duration of use, number of dispensed prescriptions or whether progestin-only or combination oral contraceptives were used.
Additionally, oral contraceptive use was not associated with initial steroid or anti-TNF prescriptions, also irrespective of duration, number and type.
“We did not find an association between [oral contraceptive] use and risk of surgery and steroid or anti-TNF use among women with established UC,” the researchers concluded. “Our findings provide reassurance that [oral contraceptive] use does not negatively affect long-term progression of UC.” – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosures: One of the researchers reports he has served as a consultant for AbbVie, and another reports he has served as a consultant for Bayer, Pfizer and Aralez Pharmaceuticals.
Perspective
Back to Top
Joel Pekow, MD
Previous studies suggest that oral contraceptive use may be associated with a more aggressive disease course in patients with Crohn’s disease. However, there is less data regarding the impact of OCPs on inflammatory activity in patients with ulcerative colitis.
In this national cohort from Sweden involving over 6000 women with ulcerative colitis with a median follow up of 5 years, OCP use was not associated with increased surgeries, corticosteroid prescriptions, or anti-TNF use.
Although there were some limitations in the study’s design, these results coupled with previous analyses which have not identified an association between the OCPs and risk of UC provide further support of the safety of OCPs on inflammatory activity in patients with UC. These findings will provide reassurance to the large number of women with UC who take OCPs.
As studies have now demonstrated differences in impact of OCPs on disease activity in women with Crohn’s disease compared to UC, mechanistic investigations are also needed to further explore the role of these medications on inflammatory activity in patients with IBD.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts