Oral contraceptives and stroke: a preliminary report on an epidemiologic study in Taiwan, China

To investigate risk of stroke following use of oral contraceptives (OC) in less developed countries, a case-control study was conducted in Taiwan involving 323 cases hospitalized in 1978-1980, 250 hospital controls, and 646 neighborhood controls matched with cases on several variables. All were alive at interview. For the total sample, no increased risk was found. However, when comparison is with hospital controls, the risk for the recent OC users was increased (OR = 3.93, 95% C.L. 1.21, 5.46). This latter finding is consistent with studies in developed countries.