--- title: Birth Control Could Raise Depression Risk description: The pill and other types of hormonal contraception may increase the risk of depression, suggests a Danish study of more than 1 million women. canonical: https://time.com/4517247/birth-control-depression-risk/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-04T12:00:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:49:15.202Z article:section: Health og:title: Your Birth Control Pill Might Raise Your Depression Risk og:description: Some of the highest risks were in teenage girls og:url: https://time.com/4517247/birth-control-depression-risk/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0b4014f5a7be1bc/6987788606f2c179903333eb/birth-control-pills-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2151 og:image:height: 1210 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Birth Control Pills og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Your Birth Control Pill Might Raise Your Depression Risk twitter:description: Some of the highest risks were in teenage girls twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0b4014f5a7be1bc/6987788606f2c179903333eb/birth-control-pills-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Your Birth Control Pill Might Raise Your Depression Risk > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1aeb90a0-bf78-4e00-8a6a-2bed821d15dd&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The History of Birth Control [Watch (HLS stream): The History of Birth Control](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4oCau3Jn.m3u8) (3:12)  _Published 2015-01-22. For as long as men and women have been having children, they’ve been trying to figure out how not to. Artifacts dating back to ancient times have shown that contraceptives have been used for thousands of years._ by [Amanda MacMillan / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Amanda MacMillan / Health.com Contributor Oct 4, 2016 12:00 PM UTC For as long as men and women have been having children, they’ve been trying to figure out how not to. Artifacts dating back to ancient times have shown that contraceptives have been used for thousands of years. by [Amanda MacMillan / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Amanda MacMillan / Health.com Contributor Oct 4, 2016 12:00 PM UTC If you’ve ever thought that your birth control might be messing with your mood, you may be right: The pill and other types of hormonal contraception [may increase the risk of depression](http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2552796), suggests a Danish study of more than 1 million women and teenage girls. To date, the research on contraception and [depression](http://www.health.com/depression) has been mixed—despite the fact that [mood swings](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20408202,00.html) are a well-known reason some women stop using birth control. In fact, as the authors state in their paper in _JAMA Psychiatry_, that may be a reason why science has underestimated its effects on emotional health: If women feel depressed and take themselves off of birth control, they’re less likely to be included in studies that could show a link. To avoid this problem, University of Copenhagen scientists designed a huge, nationally representative study sample, including more than 1 million women ages 15 to 34\. They grouped the women into two main groups—users and nonusers of hormonal contraceptives. About 55% of the women were in the “user” group, including anyone who’d been on birth control in the previous six months. (They were put in this group in order to include anyone who’d recently quit because of depressive symptoms.) The researchers followed the women for an average of 6.4 years. **_Health.com:_** [_12 Surprising Causes of Depression_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20515167,00.html/?xid=time) When they analyzed the data, they found that women using [combination birth control pills](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20354669,00.html#combination-pill-0)—which contain both estrogen and progestin (and are the most commonly used type)—were 23% more likely to have been prescribed an [antidepressant](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20431831,00.html), compared to nonusers. Those on a [progestin-only pill](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20354669,00.html#progestin-only-pill-) were 34% more likely. The risks for other types of hormonal birth control were even higher. Compared to women who didn’t use any hormonal contraception, the rate of antidepressant prescriptions increased by 40% for those using a progestin-only [IUD](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20354669,00.html#iud) (levonorgestrel); 60% for those using a [vaginal ring](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20354669,00.html#vaginal-ring--0) (etonogestrel); and 100% for those using a [patch](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20354669,00.html#patch) (norgestrolmin). The findings support the authors’ theory that the hormone progesterone—and its synthetic version, progestin—can play a role in the development of depression. The fact that progestin-only pills and IUDs had higher depression rates than combined pills was especially telling, they wrote. (The higher risk among women using the patch and the ring was likely due to differences in hormonal dosage, they say, rather than delivery method.) **_Health.com:_** [_7 Common Birth Control Side Effects_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20408202,00.html/?xid=time) Some of the highest risk rates were seen among teenage girls, who were 80% more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant when they were on combined birth control pills—and 120% more likely when they were on progestin-only pills—compared to those who didn’t use any hormonal birth control. For teens who used non-oral hormonal products, their risk tripled. It’s important to point out that, while depression is a common and significant problem, most of the study participants (in all groups) were not affected. In total, about 12.5% of women—users and nonusers combined—were prescribed an antidepressant for the first time during the study period, and about 2% were given a first-time diagnosis of depression. While the study had many strengths, including its large sample size and its exclusion of anyone with a prior depression diagnosis, the authors did note a few limitations. Not all depressed women are diagnosed or treated with antidepressants, they wrote, and [not all antidepressants are prescribed for depression](http://www.health.com/mind-body/half-of-antidepressants-not-prescribed-for-depression). **_Health.com:_** [_10 Signs You Should See a Doctor for Depression_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20854499,00.html/?xid=time) Further studies are needed to examine depression as a potential side effect of birth-control use, says lead author and clinical professor Øjvind Lidegaard, MD. But it’s not too early for doctors and concerned patients (or parents) to put these findings to use, he tells _Health_. “Women who develop depression after starting on oral contraceptives should consider this use as a contributing factor,” he says. Furthermore, he adds, “doctors should include these aspects together with other risks and benefits with use of hormonal contraceptives, when they advise women to which type of contraception is the most suitable for that specific woman.” This is especially important for teenage girls, he says, who seem to be most vulnerable to this association, and to the risk factors for depression overall. “Doctors should ensure that women, especially young women, are not already depressed or have a history of depression,” he says, “and they should inform women about this potential risk.” _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/depression/birth-control-side-effect-depression/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] For as long [00:04] as men and women have been having children, they've [00:07] been trying to figure out how not to. Artifacts [00:13] dating back to ancient times have shown that [00:15] contraceptives have been used for thousands of years. [00:19] Unsurprisingly, not every method was all that effective. [00:25] In ancient China, concubines would drink a cocktail of [00:28] lead and mercury. Unfortunately, the side effects [00:32] included sterility, brain damage. Kidney failure and [00:35] death. Ancient Egyptian women would mix honey, [00:40] sodium carbonate, and crocodile dung into a thick [00:43] paste they would insert into themselves before having [00:45] sex. In [00:48] Greece in the year 200 a gynecologist named Soranus. [00:53] Advised women to hold their breathe during [00:55] intercourse and sneeze afterward. [ SNEEZE ] And in [00:59] the Middle Ages in Europe, women believed tying [01:02] weasel testicles to their thighs or around their necks [01:04] during sex would prevent pregnancy. Huh? But it [01:08] wasn't all a shot in the dark. Many modern forms of [01:12] contraception have roots in the ancient past. For [01:15] example, ancient cave drawings found in France [01:18] appear to show an early version of the condom and a [01:20] prototype of the cervical cap has been used since [01:23] Casanova's days. In his memoirs written in the 18th [01:27] century he describes using partially squeezed lemon [01:30] halves to do the trick. [ MUSIC ] The modern history of [01:34] not having babies begins in the mid 1800's. When [01:38] vulcanized rubber was patented and condoms could [01:40] be mass produced. [ MUSIC ] [01:43] Yet for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries [01:47] women had a hard time getting their hands on [01:48] effective contraception. Contraception. Anti- obscenity [01:51] laws in the US restricted anyone, including doctors, [01:55] from spreading information about it. But that didn't [01:58] stop women from trying to prevent pregnancy. Many [02:02] women would use household products, such as Lysol [02:05] or Coca- Cola, which they believed would kill sperm. [02:07] [ MUSIC ] [02:09] Advertisements for Lysol even endorsed the product as [02:12] a way for women to protect their married happiness. [02:16] All of that changed in 1960 when the FDA approved an [02:20] oral contraceptive pill thanks to the tireless efforts of [02:23] activist Margaret Sanger. And a team of doctors. Within [02:27] five years millions of American women had [02:29] prescriptions for the pill. In the following decades other [02:33] forms of reliable contraception appeared, including [02:36] IUD's. Safe and effective birth control still isn't [02:40] a universal privilege. A 2013 report found that 222 [02:45] million women from developing countries around the [02:47] world. Said they wanted to use birth control but didn't [02:51] have access to it. But in the US, a whopping [02:55] 99 % of women of child bearing age say that they've [02:58] used some form of contraception. No crocodile dung [03:02] required. 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