Contraception (Birth Control) and Family Planning PubHealthInfo

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PubHealth.info® (a subsidiary of PakMed) presents scientific information mainly based on abstracts of articles published on a variety of public health issues/topics, particularly encompassing population planning, disease prevention, maternal and child health, and communicable and non-communicable diseases (like HIV AIDS, malaria, etc) that are affecting a significant portion of population in developing and developed countries. Here you can find abstracts of articles published on a variety of public health topics under category "Contraception (Birth Control) and Family Planning". Contraception (birth control) is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of a woman becoming pregnant or giving birth. Therefore contraception is the utilization of various and sundry surgical procedures, devices, practices, agents, or drugs with the intention of preventing conception or impregnation (pregnancy). Methods and intentions typically termed birth control may be considered a pivotal ingredient to family planning. Birth control is a controversial political and ethical issue in many cultures and religions, and although it is generally less controversial than abortion specifically.

YEAR: 1995

CATEGORY: Contraception (Birth Control) and Family Planning

TITLE

Preliminary evidence for reduced cortisol responsivity to psychological

stress in women using oral contraceptive medication.

AUTHORS

Kirschbaum C; Pirke KM; Hellhammer DH

SOURCE

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY. 1995;20(5):509-14.

ABSTRACT

At the University of Trier in Germany, psychologists, using data from two studies, compared saliva cortisol responses

to psychological stress (5 minutes of public speaking and 5 minutes of mental arithmetic, both in front of an

audience) in users of oral contraceptives (OCs) with those of women not using OCs to determine whether OCs affect

cortisol levels in women under psychological stress. Controls had a higher increase in cortisol levels than OC users

(p = 0.02 in study 1; p = 0.004 in study 2). In fact, peak cortisol levels in OC users were only somewhat higher than

baseline levels. The subjective rating of having been nervous had a significant positive correlation with cortisol

response (p = 0.018), but there was no significant association with other subjective ratings (e.g., having control over

the situation). Thus, affective responses did not explain the difference in cortisol levels between OC users and

women controls. When the researchers compared cortisol responses to psychological stress between female and

male controls, men had a significantly greater response than women (p = 0.04). This finding confirmed the findings

of an earlier report that men have greater cortisol responses to stress than women. These findings show that OCs

weaken the cortisol response to psychological stress. Based on these findings and those of other studies, the

authors hypothesize that OCs cause changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Thus, estrogen-containing

drugs may in the future become a prolonged treatment of supra-adrenal stimulation. The actual physiological

mechanisms must be defined first, however. (PubHealth.info Document ID: CONT2T 3014-06)

PubHealth.info NOTE: The author(s) of this article titled, "Preliminary evidence for reduced cortisol responsivity to

psychological stress in women using oral contraceptive medication.", is(are) Kirschbaum C; Pirke KM; Hellhammer

DH. The source of this article is "PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY. 1995;20(5):509-14.". This article was

published in 1995 in English language(s). (PubHealth.info® Document ID: CONT2T 3014-06. All rights reserved with

PubHealth.info) PIN: 8014

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