Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Affective Disorders: An Updated Review

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Psychiatry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Hormonal contraceptives offer women control over fertility but their mood-related side effects are under-researched.
• Existing research on hormonal contraceptives and mood symptoms, depression, and premenstrual disorders is limited by funding and scope.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current knowledge on hormonal contraceptive use and its association with mood symptoms, depression, and premenstrual disorders.
• To propose the Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression as a framework for understanding the mechanisms linking contraceptive use to depression risk.
• To identify key risk factors and potential therapeutic applications of hormonal contraceptives in mood disorders.

Main Methods:

• Literature review summarizing existing evidence on hormonal contraceptive use and mood outcomes.
• Application of the Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression to hypothesize mechanistic pathways.
• Identification of risk factors and potential benefits based on current data.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests certain hormonal contraceptives may increase depression risk in some women, while others may decrease it.
• Age and prior mental health history are significant predictors of depression risk associated with hormonal contraceptive use.
• Hormonal contraceptives can influence mood, with potential to treat depression in women experiencing cyclical mood fluctuations, suggesting premenstrual disorders.

Conclusions:

• Further research and funding are crucial to understand the precise mechanisms by which different hormonal contraceptives affect mood in diverse women.
• A precision medicine approach to contraceptive prescribing is needed to optimize mood-related outcomes.
• Healthcare providers should practice mindful, patient-centered prescribing for hormonal contraceptives, considering individual mental health profiles.