Scientists from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) found that women taking oral contraceptives were 2.5 times less likely to report depression. The study was published on: Journal of Affective Disorders.
The authors analyzed data from 6,239 U.S. women ages 18 to 55. The prevalence of major depressive disorder was 4.6% in women using any oral contraceptives and 11.4% in those who stopped using them. In both groups, depression was more likely to occur in women who were widowed, divorced, or had obesity or cancer.
The results may be because taking contraceptives alleviates concerns about unwanted pregnancy and therefore improves mental health. The authors noted that most women tolerated these medications well, but some suffered from side effects, including depression. So it’s possible that what the scientists actually saw was the survivor effect: Women who became depressed when they started using birth control stopped taking it, so they ended up in the second group.
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