August 14, 2009

expert comments on new research into DVT and the contraceptive pill, as published in the BMJ

The research suggests that women switching to a different type of contraceptive pill may be at a lower risk of deep vein thrombosis.

Prof David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge, said:

“The Danish authors conclude that the risk of venous thrombosis with any type of combined oral contraceptive in young women is less than ten in 10,000 per year. So if 10,000 young women switched to a ‘safer’ type of contraceptive that halved the risk, then perhaps 5 cases of venous thrombosis would be prevented. The benefit for any particular women of changing is not likely to be very big, and the choice might be left up to individual circumstances and feelings. But as so many women take the pill, any risk reduction could be valuable to the overall population’s health.”