Further insight gained on impact of OC use.

PIP: A 25-year follow-up (1968-93) of the 46,000 British women enrolled in the Royal College of General Practitioners' Oral Contraception (OC) study indicated that OCs exert their main effect on mortality while they are being used and in the 10 years immediately after method discontinuation. By 1993, the median age of women enrolled in the cohort was 49 years. There were 1599 deaths during the follow-up period--945 in women who had ever used OCs and 654 in never-users. Among current and recent (within 10 years) users, the relative risk of death was 0.2 from ovarian cancer, 2.5 from cervical cancer, and 1.9 from cerebrovascular disease. There were no significant excesses or deficits either overall or from any specific cause of death among women who had ended pill use 10 or more years earlier. However, the study lacked adequate statistical power to analyze mortality from specific causes such as ovarian or cervical cancer.^ieng