Hormonally Active Contraceptives, Part II: Sociological, Environmental, and Economic Impact.

To investigate the sociological, environmental, and economic impact of hormonally active contraceptives, a series of comprehensive literature surveys were employed. Sociological effects are discussed including abortion, exploitation of women, a weakening of marriage, and an increase in divorce with deleterious effects on children such as child poverty, poorer health, lower educational achievement, suicide risks, drug and alcohol abuse, criminality, and incarceration, among others. The environmental impact is discussed briefly and includes the feminization and trans-gendering of male fish downstream from the effluent of city wastewater treatment plants with declining fish populations. The potential economic impact of most of these side effects is estimated based on epidemiologic data and published estimates of costs of caring for the diseases which are linked to the use of hormonally active contraceptives. Hormonally active contraceptives appear to have a deleterious impact on multiple aspects of women's health as well as negative economic and environmental impacts. These risks can be avoided through the use of nonhormonal methods and need to be more clearly conveyed to the public. SUMMARY: Hormonal contraceptives have wide-ranging effects.  The potential economic impact of the medical side effects is estimated. Sociological effects are discussed including abortion, exploitation of women, a weakening of marriage and an increase in divorce with negative effects on children such as child poverty, poorer health, lower educational achievement, suicide risks, drug and alcohol abuse, criminality and incarceration among others. The environmental impact includes hormonal effects on fish with declining fish populations. Women seeking birth control have a right to know about how to avoid these risks by using effective hormone-free methods like Fertility Awareness Methods.

Hormonally Active Contraceptives Part I: Risks Acknowledged and Unacknowledged.

Hormonal contraceptives have been on the market for over fifty years and, while their formulations have changed, the basic mechanism of action has remained the same. During this time, numerous studies have been performed documenting side effects, some of which appear over time, some within weeks or months, but all can have a serious impact on health and quality of life. An effort was made to perform a series of comprehensive literature surveys to better understand immediate and long-term side effects of these agents. The results of this literature review uncovered a number of potential side effects, some of which are acknowledged and many of which are not noted in the prescribing information for these agents. Among the unacknowledged side effects are: an increased risk of HIV transmission for depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), and for combination contraceptives breast cancer, cervical cancer, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, depression, mood disorders and suicides (especially among women twenty-five years of age and younger, in the first six months of use), multiple sclerosis, interstitial cystitis, female sexual dysfunction, osteoporotic bone fractures (especially for progesterone-only contraceptives), and fatty weight gain. Misleading prescribing information regarding cardiovascular and thrombotic risks are also noted. Women seeking birth control have a right to be informed and educated about risk avoidance through the use of effective nonhormonal methods like fertility awareness methods. In one case-that of DMPA-the increased risk of HIV acquisition has been conclusively demonstrated to be both real and unique to this drug. Considering the availability of numerous alternatives, there is no justification for the continued marketing of DMPA to the public. SUMMARY: We reviewed the effect of hormonal contraceptives on women's health. A number of potential side effects were noted including increased risks of breast cancer, cervical cancer, inflammatory bowel  disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, cystitis, bone fractures, depression, mood disorders and suicides,  fatty weight gain, and female sexual dysfunction.  With the long-acting injectable contraceptives there is an increased risk of getting HIV.  Misleading prescribing information regarding the risks of heart attacks, strokes and blood clotting problems were also noted. Women seeking birth control have a right to know about how to avoid these risks by using effective hormone-free Fertility Awareness Methods.

Glycine supplementation extends lifespan of male and female mice.

Diets low in methionine extend lifespan of rodents, though through unknown mechanisms. Glycine can mitigate methionine toxicity, and a small prior study has suggested that supplemental glycine could extend lifespan of Fischer 344 rats. We therefore evaluated the effects of an 8% glycine diet on lifespan and pathology of genetically heterogeneous mice in the context of the Interventions Testing Program. Elevated glycine led to a small (4%-6%) but statistically significant lifespan increase, as well as an increase in maximum lifespan, in both males (p = 0.002) and females (p < 0.001). Pooling across sex, glycine increased lifespan at each of the three independent sites, with significance at p = 0.01, 0.053, and 0.03, respectively. Glycine-supplemented females were lighter than controls, but there was no effect on weight in males. End-of-life necropsies suggested that glycine-treated mice were less likely than controls to die of pulmonary adenocarcinoma (p = 0.03). Of the 40 varieties of incidental pathology evaluated in these mice, none were increased to a significant degree by the glycine-supplemented diet. In parallel analyses of the same cohort, we found no benefits from TM5441 (an inhibitor of PAI-1, the primary inhibitor of tissue and urokinase plasminogen activators), inulin (a source of soluble fiber), or aspirin at either of two doses. Our glycine results strengthen the idea that modulation of dietary amino acid levels can increase healthy lifespan in mice, and provide a foundation for further investigation of dietary effects on aging and late-life diseases.

Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on south asian women.

OBJECTIVE: South Asia, a historically low-incidence region for breast cancer, has produced many recent studies examining reproductive factors. We compiled these studies to confirm the reality of the significant association reported in the first, 1996 review of induced abortion as a risk factor, independent of abortion's known effect in abrogating the protection afforded by full-term pregnancy. METHODS: We searched the medical literature for English language studies on breast cancer incidence in women in South Asia published from 1 January, 2000 through 30 June, 2017, using Pubmed, Scholar-Google, and bibliographic searches. Studies were included which reported overall data on induced abortion and/or abortion non-specifically. All 20 eligible studies were of retrospective, case-control design. Data from individual studies were combined using random effects modeling, following the determination of significant heterogeneity. RESULTS: Cumulative OR for all 20 studies was 2.51 (95%CI: 1.67-3.75) and 3.91 (95%CI: 1.02-14.97) for the five studies which reported specific data on induced abortion. Significant dose-dependence was observed among all 5 studies which stratified by number of abortions. Meta-regression of OR v. abortion prevalence among controls was statistically significant, as observed in a 2013 meta-analysis in China. CONCLUSION: The moderately strong association identified between abortion and breast cancer explains in part the spread of the breast cancer epidemic to South Asia as it has become Westernized. Continuing denial of the abortion-breast cancer association can only ensure that the acknowledged worldwide breast cancer epidemic will continue to worsen, costing many millions of women their lives over the next several decades.

Risk of HIV Infection in Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA) Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread in Africa and Asia, use of the injectable contraceptive steroid DMPA is widespread and has been increasing. Since studies dating back to 1992 have suggested that DMPA may increase the transmission of HIV to women, we endeavored to determine if the extant epidemiological and biological evidence is sufficient to conclude that DMPA use constitutes a definite hazard to women's health. METHODS: We searched Medline using the search terms: contraceptives or contraception AND HIV and searched bibliographies of articles thus identified. We included in the meta-analysis all studies examining the association between use of DMPA (or injectable contraceptives comprising mostly DMPA) and the presence (cross-sectional studies, n = 8) or acquisition (longitudinal studies, n = 16) of HIV+ status in women, using a random effects models to estimate odds ratios (ORs; cross-sectional studies) and hazard ratios (HRs; longitudinal studies). Studies were excluded if the comparison group included women using any form of steroidal contraception. RESULTS: Statistically significant positive associations between DMPA use and HIV positivity were observed both in cross-sectional (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.15 - 1.73) and longitudinal studies (HR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.28 - 1.73). The biological plausibility of increased vulnerability to HIV infection due to progestational action (via thinning of the vaginal epithelial barrier and immunosuppression) as well as glucocorticoid agonistic immunosuppression, are discussed. CONCLUSION: The epidemiological and biological evidence now make a compelling case that DMPA adds significantly to the risk of male-to-female HIV transmission.

The abortion-breast cancer connection.

This article examines the abortion breast cancer link in some historical scientific detail, offering a perspective on an issue that is at the center of a long-running public policy debate that plays out in legislatures, courtrooms, and newspaper editorials, as well as in scientific and medical journals. Even as politically correct studies have been promulgated to neutralize the data proving the abortion breast cancer link, even stronger data have emerged in recent years that firmly link abortion to premature births in subsequent pregnancies, which in turn raise the risk of breast cancer in mothers and cerebral palsy in prematurely born children.

The abortion-breast cancer connection.

This article examines the abortion breast cancer link in some historical scientific detail, offering a perspective on an issue that is at the center of a long-running public policy debate that plays out in legislatures, courtrooms, and newspaper editorials, as well as in scientific and medical journals. Even as politically correct studies have been promulgated to neutralize the data proving the abortion breast cancer link, even stronger data have emerged in recent years that firmly link abortion to premature births in subsequent pregnancies, which in turn raise the risk of breast cancer in mothers and cerebral palsy in prematurely born children.