Oral Contraceptive Therapy Increases Oxidative Stress in Pre-Menopausal Women

Background: oral contraceptive therapy (oct) is associated withan increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, venous thromboembolismand stroke. however, the underlying mechanisms have not yetbeen elucidated. the objective of this study was to investigate theinfluence of oct on blood levels of an oxidative stress maker inpre?menopausal women.methods: oxidative stress was determined in 87 pre?menopausalhealthy women (24 with and 63 without oct) using a blood assayfor reactive oxygen metabolites (by the d?roms test). the subjectswith oct received a triphasic preparation consisting of ethinylestradiol and norethisterone.results: subjects with oct showed significantly higher d?romslevels (median: 380; interquartile range: 328?502 carr u) than thosewithout oct (325 [271?369]; p < 0.05). the results remained thesame after adjusting for potential confounders.conclusions: the use of oct may increase oxidative stresslevels, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, inpre?menopausal women, providing new insights to the primaryprevention of vascular complications in these subjects.