"As misinformation about women's health spreads faster than ever, doctors say new research on the risks of hormonal birth control underscores the challenge of communicating nuance in the social media age. The study, which was conducted in Sweden and tracked more than 2 million teenage girls and women less than age 50 for more than a decade, found that hormonal contraception remains safe overall, but also found small differences in breast cancer risk based on the hormones used in the formulation."
"Case in point: The study reported that women who had used hormonal birth control had about a 24 percent higher rate of breast cancer than women who hadn't. But because breast cancer is still uncommon in younger women, that works out to an increase from roughly 54 to 67 breast cancer cases per 100,000 women per year about 13 extra cases per 100,000 women, or about one extra case per 7,800 users of hormonal contraceptives per year."
A Swedish registry tracked more than 2 million teenage girls and women under age 50 for more than a decade. Hormonal contraception remained safe overall but showed small differences in breast cancer risk depending on hormone formulation. Current or recent users experienced a small, short-term rise in breast cancer diagnoses, with risk highest during use and declining within five to ten years after stopping. The relative increase was about 24 percent, translating to roughly 13 additional cases per 100,000 women per year (about one extra case per 7,800 users per year). Clinicians advise continuing birth control while noting social media can amplify incomplete or alarming interpretations.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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