Contraceptive Use Linked To Leukemia in Children, A New Study Revealed

Contraceptive Use Linked To Leukemia in Children, A New Study Revealed
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A link between contraceptive use and the diagnosis of leukemia in children was detected in a study published just a few days ago in the medical journal The Lancet Oncology. Contraceptive use is believed to influence the development of leukemia in children, the researchers noticed.

To obtain this result, researchers analyzed the medical background of more than 1 million children born in Denmark between 1996 and 2014 and reviewed the diagnosed cases of leukemia recorded in the Danish Cancer Registry.

The information provided on hormonal contraceptive use was classified as “no use” (contraceptive never used before birth), “previous use” (over three months before the beginning of pregnancy), and “recent use” (up to three months before and during first weeks of pregnancy).

They found a link between contraceptive use and leukemia

Of all the children tested, 606 were diagnosed with leukemia, 465 with lymphoid leukemia and 141 with non-lymphoid leukemia. According to the study, “children born to women who had recently used a type of hormonal contraception were more likely to develop leukemia than children born to women who had never used contraceptives.”

The scientists also found out that those women who had consumed hormonal contraceptives close to or during pregnancy may have resulted in 25 additional cases of leukemia during the nine years of the study.

What types of contraceptives increase the risks of leukemia in children?

Contraceptives represent one of the most popular contraception methods and there are several types of contraceptives a woman can take. The most common are hormonal contraceptives, which are those composed of hormones (estrogens and progestins or progestins alone).

With an efficiency of 99%, these are the best contraception method after the condoms.

However, according to the recent study, these hormonal contraceptives are the ones that significantly boost the risks of leukemia in children, mainly when the future mothers use them right before getting pregnant or even in the first weeks of pregnancy when they are not yet aware they’ll have a baby.


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Jeffrey likes to write about health and fitness topics, being a champion fitness instructor in the past.

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