Do oral contraceptives increase blood pressure and serum total cholesterol in young women?

The effects of the use of oral contraceptives on serum lipids and blood pressure were studied among young women who participated in a longitudinal survey of risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in the Netherlands. Fifty-three participants, ages 14 to 24 years, initiated oral contraceptive use during follow-up to the primary study on CHD. They continued oral contraceptive use for at least 2 subsequent years. From 53 age-matched control subjects, who did not use oral contraceptives, data were obtained for the same follow-up period. Women using oral contraceptives showed a significantly greater rise in serum total cholesterol levels than did the reference subjects (14 mg/100 ml/2 year vs 4 mg/100 ml/2 year; 95% confidence interval of the difference was 0.1 to 19.6). The increase in systolic blood pressure (4.7 mm Hg/2 year vs 2.1 mm Hg/2 year; 95% confidence interval of the difference was -1.8 to 6.9) did not differ between the groups. These findings suggest that oral contraceptive use may be associated with an enhanced rise in total cholesterol during adolescence.