New Research Links the Type of Estrogen in Birth Control to Anxiety

 

Research indicates that the type of estrogen in hormonal birth control impacts anxiety-like behaviors, with synthetic estrogen linked to increased anxiety in rats, highlighting the importance of estrogen type in contraceptive side effects.

The specific type of estrogen used in hormonal birth control could affect anxiety-like behaviors. This is according to recent research, which was presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, ENDO 2024, in Boston, Massachusetts.

“It is plausible that estrogen type is a key player in mood or cognitive related side effects of hormone-based contraceptive use. According to the CDC, 12.6% of women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 49 reported using oral contraceptives from 2015 to 2017, that behavioral side effects are one of the reasons why many women stop taking combination birth control.

The researchers sought to understand whether or not identifying an estrogen type matters when it comes to evaluating behaviors like anxiety and cognition.

Rat Model Study on Estrogen Types

In this rat model study, the researchers randomly assigned 36 young adult female rats (aged 3 to 4 months old) to synthetic ethinyl estradiol plus dienogest, natural estradiol valerate plus dienogest, or vehicle control treatment.

After 4 weeks, the rats were evaluated on a delayed spontaneous alternation task to examine spatial memory and elevated plus maze to analyze anxiety-like behavior.

Then, serum was extracted and examined for estradiol, progesterone, androstenedione, and testosterone levels using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and corticosterone levels using radioimmunoassay.

“We found that female rats treated with the synthetic estrogen exhibited elevated anxiety-like behaviors compared to females that received a vehicle control or the natural estrogen,” Prakapenka said, adding that spatial memory was similar across the three treatment groups.

Of note, navigation on the spatial memory task differed. The synthetic estrogen increased habitual turn strategy use compared to the control and natural estrogen–a finding that is associated with anxiety-like behaviors.

“Altogether, our findings support the notion that estrogen type matters for behavioral outcomes associated with contraceptive use, identifying estrogen type as a potential clinical tool for management of behavioral side effects in females