[At what age should oral contraception be stopped?].

The "pill" is generally considered inadvisable after the age of 40, chiefly because of vascular risk. The authors thus raise the question of possible continued oral contraception until the menopause using new estroprogestational agents. They discuss in turn the usefulness of contraception after the age of 40, bearing in mind the significant fall in fertility at this age and the vascular, gynecological and breast risks linked to oral contraception. It emerges, on the basis of data from the literature, that estroprogestational agents can be continued until the menopause, and in particular since they are associated with beneficial effects: protective role against carcinoma of the ovary and endometrium, comfort associated with use of the pill in terms of regular cycle but also the prevention of early estrogen deficiency and osteoporosis in particular, all the more so since a pregnancy after the age of 40 is a far greater risk than that linked to the use of a current oral contraceptive, obviously after patients with a known risk factor have been eliminated.