Skip to main content

Venous Thromboembolism Risk Higher for Certain Hormonal Contraceptives

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 13, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 13, 2025 -- Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk varies across hormonal contraceptives, according to a research letter published online Feb. 10 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Harman Gailan Hassan Yonis, M.D., from Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues examined VTE risk across contemporary hormonal contraceptives using Danish national registers including all females aged 15 to 49 years.

The researchers found 2,691 VTEs occurred among 1,397,235 females followed for 8,455,601 person-years. The researchers found that per 10,000 person-years, the standardized VTE rates were 2.0, 10.0, 8.0, 8.1, 3.6, 2.1, 3.4, and 11.9 for nonuse, combined pills, vaginal rings, patches, progestin-only pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), implants, and injections, respectively. VTE rate ratios were 4.6, 4.5, 5.0, 1.8, 1.0, 2.4, and 5.7 for combined pills, vaginal rings, patches, progestin-only pills, IUDs, implants, and injections, respectively, compared with nonuse. Per 10,000 person-years, the corresponding additional VTEs were 8.0 for combined pills versus nonuse and 6.0, 6.1, 1.6, 0.1, 1.4, and 9.9 for vaginal rings, patches, progestin-only pills, IUDs, implants, and injections, respectively. Per 10,000 person-years, VTE excess varied by combined pill formulation from 3.0 for 20-µg estrogen pills with levonorgestrel to 14.2 for combined pills containing third-generation progestins. After adjusting for body mass index, smoking, and family history, the associations remained consistent.

"Variation in VTE risk across products underscores the importance of personalized contraceptive counseling," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted February 2025

Read this next

Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...

AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...

AACR: Nonsurgical Treatment Feasible for Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- A neoadjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade enables nonoperative management among patients with early-stage mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.