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Oral Contraceptives

Patient Screening and Counseling, Pill Selection, and Managing Side Effects

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Book cover The Handbook of Contraception

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Practice ((CCP))

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Abstract

Concerns regarding the estrogen-related adverse effects with use of combination oral contraceptives (OCs) have led to a progressive reduction in the estrogen dose since their introduction in the 1960s. Prompting these concerns were the numerous epidemiological studies linking estrogen in OCs to breast cancer (1) and cardiovascular complications, including an increase in thromboembolic events and myocardial infarction (2). By the early 1990s, low-dose OCs containing 20–35 μg of ethinyl estradiol (EE) were the most commonly used formulations, and products with more than 50 μg of EE were no longer being marketed. Epidemiological studies reported improved safety profiles of these lower dose formulations (3–7) (Fig. 1).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

    Donna Shoupe MD

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  1. Donna Shoupe MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

    Donna Shoupe MD

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

    Siri L. Kjos MD

  3. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA

    Siri L. Kjos MD

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Shoupe, D. (2006). Oral Contraceptives. In: Shoupe, D., Kjos, S.L. (eds) The Handbook of Contraception. Current Clinical Practice. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-150-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-150-5_3

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-599-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-150-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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