Contraceptive Injections Increase Women's Risk of Brain Tumors

A recent study revealed that contraceptive injections "may increase the chances of women developing brain tumors," according to the British newspaper "Telegraph." Researchers in the study published in the British Medical Journal (The BMJ) found that those who used contraceptive injections "were 5.6 times more likely to develop a brain tumor." This study is the first of its kind to assess the risks associated with the use of the hormone progesterone regarding brain tumors, involving more than 108,000 women in France, including 18,061 who underwent brain tumor surgery between 2009 and 2018. Progesterone treatments are used by millions of women in various forms, including contraceptive injections, and also to treat menstrual disorders, according to "Telegraph." The study conducted by the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products did not link other contraceptive methods, including pills, to increased rates of meningioma, which can be fatal. Experts found that contraceptive injections were "associated with a fivefold increase in the risk," but they noted that the research "only found a correlation between the injections and the risk of brain tumors, not that they are the cause." The contraceptive injection, which lasts for three months and is 99 percent effective, is a long-acting contraceptive method used by about 380,000 women in the UK.