Oral Contraceptives (which increase Vitamin D) reduce the risk of some cancers – Jan 2018

Oral Contraceptives Reduce Risk for Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers New York Times Jan 2018

  • “ . . the effect is especially evident in smokers, the obese and those who exercise infrequently. .
    These people are at high risk of being Vitamin D deficient
  • “… those who had used them for 10 years or more had a 34 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer…”
  • “Contraceptive use did not seem to affect the risk for postmenopausal colorectal or breast cancer.”


Results (from the JAMA abstract)   doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.4942
The analytic population was aged 50 to 71 years (median, 62 years) at enrollment and largely white (91%) and postmenopausal (96%). For

  • ovarian cancer, OC use–associated risk reductions strengthened with duration of use (long-term OC use [≥10 years] HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.47-0.76; P < .001 for trend) and were similar across modifiable lifestyle factors.
  • Risk reductions for endometrial cancer strengthened with duration of use (long-term OC use HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.56-0.78; P < .001 for trend);
  • the most pronounced reductions were among long-term OC users who were
    • smokers (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25-0.88), had
    • obese BMIs (0.36; 95% CI, 0.25-0.52), and who
    • exercised rarely (HR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.29-0.56).
  • Associations between OC use and breast and colorectal cancers were predominantly null.


Note by VitaminDWikik – breast and colorectal cancers usually do not start until years after contraceptives are stopped


See also VitaminDWiki

2774 visitors, last modified 19 Jan, 2018,
Printer Friendly Follow this page for updates