Oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy are closely associated with stroke: AHA

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-07-10T19:30:38+05:30 | Updated On 10 July 2022 7:30 PM IST

Sweden: The use of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy was linked to an increased risk of stroke, particularly during the first year of usage, probably due to acute alterations in hemostatic equilibrium, says an article published in Stroke.

Exogenous hormones are used by millions of women worldwide as hormone replacement or oral contraceptives or treatment. Strokes connected with the use of oral contraceptives were first recorded shortly after their introduction. Since then, several studies have evaluated the risk of stroke, with variable results. Several factors have led to the difficulty in verifying this risk correctly. One key concern is that oral contraceptive formulations vary greatly, and they have evolved dramatically over time. Still, the time-dependent and long-term effects of exogenous hormones on stroke risk are unknown.

Therese Johansson and colleagues evaluated the relationship between self-reported oral contraceptive and hormone replacement therapy usage and stroke risk in 257 194 women born between 1939 and 1970 from the UK Biobank. Any sort of ischemic stroke, stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage were all outcomes. In Cox regression models, exposures were evaluated as time-varying variables.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. An elevated occurrence rate of any stroke was detected during the first year of oral contraceptive usage, but the risks were determined to be equivalent over the subsequent years of use when compared to non-users.

2. Similarly, the first year of hormone replacement medication usage was related to an elevated risk of any stroke as well as cause-specific stroke, including ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage, which persisted for any stroke over the remaining years of use and after termination.

In conclusion, This study sheds fresh light on the impact of hormone exposure on stroke risk, demonstrating not only an overall risk but also strong impacts at the start of treatment.

Reference:

Johansson, T., Fowler, P., Ek, W. E., Skalkidou, A., Karlsson, T., & Johansson, Å. (2022). Oral Contraceptives, Hormone Replacement Therapy, and Stroke Risk. In Stroke. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.121.038659

oral contraceptiveshormone replacement therapystrokeAmerican Heart AssociationStroke journal

Source : Stroke journal

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751