Women who start taking birth control pills as teens have a drastically higher risk of developing depression than those who have never taken contraception.
A new four-year-long study found that women who began taking an oral contraceptive (OC) before they turned 20 had a 130 percent higher rate of depression compared to never-users,
And individuals who started OC as an adult had a lower depression risk at 92 percent.
The likelihood of developing birth control pill-linked depression was highest within the first two years of starting the contraceptive – but the rate at which women were diagnosed with depression fell the longer they took an OC.
The research team, led by health experts at Uppsala University in Sweden, posited that the link could be blamed on hormone level changes already wreaking havoc on a teen’s emotional well-being, which is magnified by the addition of hormonal birth control.
The report comes as troves of women are revealing adverse effects of the Pill, such as blood clots, gallbladder disease and other mental health issues.