The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of oral contraception (OC) other wise known as "The Pill" contains the hormones
progesterone and estrogen in 1960. By 1962 more than one million Americans were
using the pill with the numbers rising from this time (Natalie, 2013). The body
uses the hormones ingested through the pill for various physiological processes
and regulation. Temporal studies of the effects of the pill are now being
conducted to draw any conclusions on the long-term effects of ingesting
synthetically made hormones that are normally used to conduct homeostasis
within the body. What are the effects of ingesting an exceedingly high amount
of hormones used to regulate bodily processes over time?
One such study
suggests that the use of oral contraceptives for five or more years modestly
increases a woman’s risk by 5% for Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), which is a
degenerative eye disease (Pasquale & Kang, 2011). Estrogen receptors can be
found on retinal ganglion cells, which displays that the cells need estrogen
for regulation or process of the eye (Pasquale & Kang, 2011). Although POAG
is a degenerative disease and that the increase of estrogen from OC’s would
decrease the degeneration of the ganglion cells, the cycle of hormonal release
is dramatically disrupted through the continual use of OC’s (Pasquale & Kang, 2011). Perhaps there could be a correlation between the constant
ingestion of estrogen that cause these receptors on the cells to become
insensitive just as insulin receptors become desensitized and are not able to
work with a high sugar and fat diet of a patient that develops Type II
diabetes. There are many other factors that can be playing a role in this
connection between OC use and a woman’s risk of POAG, which the authors had
tried to address using a multiple regression model that included many different
factors (Pasquale & Kang, 2011). This is one simple study that looks at the
effects of ingesting regulatory hormones over time since there was no way to
conduct temporal studies of these synthetic hormones. Although OC’s work fairly
well by altering the physiological process of reproduction, what other affects
does the high intake of these hormones have on physiological processes over
time?
Bibliography:
Pascual, L. & Kang, J. (2011)Female reproductive factors and primary open-angle glaucoma in
the Nurses' Health Study. Eye (Lond). 2011 May; 25(5):
633–641
Angler, N.
(2013). THE PILL. Smithsonian, 41(7), 103.
After researching this topic a bit more, I also found an article that mentioned a study that showed a strong link between three or more years of oral contraceptive use and the doubling of a woman’s risk for developing glaucoma after the age of 40. After that age, a woman’s estrogen levels naturally decrease as she begins menopause; therefore, the scientists postulated that the reason for this correlation had to do with the way in which oral contraceptives function to reduce estrogen levels.
ReplyDeleteBy examining questionnaires regarding birth control history, including dosage and duration, from over 3,400 women in the United States, the data revealed that those who took any type of oral contraceptive for longer than three years were diagnosed with glaucoma two times more often than those who did not. While this may show a correlation, it does not indicate causation.
To alleviate concern for women who may use oral contraceptives for an extended period of time, getting regular eye exams, especially over the age of 40, is important since glaucoma can be detected in the early stages of its development.
References:
Miller T. Taking birth control pills long-term linked to higher risk of glaucoma. Daily News. [Internet] Available from: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/pill-long-term-linked-higher-risk-glaucoma-article-1.1520783