Third Generation Oral Contraceptives and Heritable Thrombophilia as Risk Factors of Non-fatal Venous Thromboembolism

Birthe Søgaard Andersen; Jørn Olsen; Gunnar Lauge Nielsen; Flemming Hald Steffensen; Henrik Toft Sørensen; John Baech; Henrik Gregersen

doi:10.1055/s-0037-1614213

Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Table of Contents

Thromb Haemost 1998; 79(01): 28-31
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1614213

Review Article

Schattauer GmbH

Third Generation Oral Contraceptives and Heritable Thrombophilia as Risk Factors of Non-fatal Venous Thromboembolism

Authors

Birthe Søgaard Andersen

¹From The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

²Department of Internal Medicine M, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Jørn Olsen

¹From The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
Gunnar Lauge Nielsen

¹From The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

²Department of Internal Medicine M, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Flemming Hald Steffensen

¹From The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

²Department of Internal Medicine M, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Henrik Toft Sørensen

¹From The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

³Department of Internal Medicine V, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
John Baech

⁴Department of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
Henrik Gregersen

⁴Department of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

Abstract

Summary

Third generation oral contraceptives (OCs) are apparently stronger risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) than other OCs, however, the increased risk may be due to confounding by indication related to differences in prescription behaviour.

We estimated the risk of VTE associated with use of OCs with and without the presence of Factor V Leiden mutation, protein C-, protein S- or antithrombin deficiency.

Sixty-seven cases with VTE were compared with 134 controls. The risk of VTE in the presence of thrombophilia was of the same magnitude for third generation OC users as for users of other OCs; OR: 52.5 (95% CI: 3.7-738.1) and OR: 63.3 (95% CI: 6.2-648.4), respectively.

It is unlikely that confounding by indication entirely explains the risk of VTE associated with third generation OCs since the combined effect exceeds what could be explained if this source of error was the only determinant of the association.

Full Text

References

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