A new study in Denmark, published in JAMA Psychiatry, investigates the effects of hormonal contraception on risk for developing depression and using antidepressant medication. The study was partially funded by the Lundbeck Foundation (Lundbeck is a pharmaceutical company that sells antidepressants). The results of the nationwide study, analyzing data from over one million women, suggest that hormonal contraceptive use may increase the risk of depression and use of antidepressants, especially for adolescents.
… The authors conclude, “Our data indicate that adolescent girls are more sensitive than older women to the influence of hormonal contraceptive use on the risk for first use of antidepressants or first diagnosis of depression.”
