[Non-contraceptive benefits of the pill--an often neglected fact]

While rare cardiovascular risks of oral contraceptives (OCs) caused a lot of concern among OC-using women in the recent past, little attention has been paid in the public to the non-contraceptive benefits of OCs. Short, medium and long term non-contraceptive benefits have to be considered. The early Anglo-American cohort and case-control studies demonstrated a reduction of menstrual complaints, iron-deficiency anaemia, ectopic pregnancies, and a partly drastic reduction of some benign and malignant tumours such as endometrial and ovarian cancer. A risk reduction of rheumatoid arthritis is discussed controversially. The present paper gives an overview of the state of knowledge. For newer OCs with different composition, comparable studies are lacking. Therefore, a cohort study was initiated in Germany in April 1998 to investigate these associations as well for newer OCs, which is presented. The described non-contraceptive benefits should be considered in the benefit-risk assessment when prescribing OCs.