Women taking oral contraceptives have higher risk of cerebral venous thrombosis, suggests a new study published in JAMA Neurology and covered by Medscape.
For the study, researchers from the Netherlands compared data from 186 CVT cases with 6,134 control cases taken from a past comprehensive study, which assessed risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The study found women who used oral contraceptives and were obese had an increased risk for CVT.
While obesity was not associated with increased CVT risk in women who were not taking oral contraceptives, when said medication was in play risk increased substantially.
The association between obesity and increased risk of CVT did not hold true for women who were not taking oral contraceptives.
Jonathan M. Coutinho, MD, of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, told Medscape, "When we looked at women in more detail, we found that obesity was only associated with increased risk of CVT in women using oral contraceptives, and in this group the risk was very pronounced — 30 times higher than normal."
Dr. Coutinho told Medscape that while this data alone shouldn't justify routine advisement against the use of oral contraceptives in obese women, he does "recommend that doctors are aware of the increased risk in obese patients and to discuss other possible options with such patients."
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