Women on new brands of birth control pill at higher risk of blood clots

Women who took newer brands of the birth control pill were almost twice as likely to be at risk of blood clots than those using older types, according to a new study by Midland researchers.

According to Nottingham University researchers, their study pointed to a link between newer contraceptive pills and a higher risk of serious blood clots.

Only days earlier, the Birmingham Mail had revealed that Fallan Kurek, a 21-year-old teaching assistant from Tamworth, collapsed and died from a blood clot in her lung less than a month after she had started taking the new contraceptive pill.

Kurek's parents blame the fatal clot on the pill, which had been prescribed by her GP to regulate her periods.

Fallon had been taking a Pill which contained a progestogen hormone called levonorgestrel. According to the study, it was among the lowest risk as a second-generation pill, but it was still two-and-a-half times more likely to cause clots than not taking any oral contraceptives.

The university researchers found that users of any combined oral contraceptive were at a higher risk of the serious blood clots known as venous thromboembolism (VTE) as against  non-users of similar age and health.

According to the researchers, the risks for women using newer pills were around 1.5 - 1.8 times higher than for women using older pills.

Women using newer pills, containing drospirenone, desogestrel, gestodene, and cyproterone, ran a four times higher risk of VTE.

The study considered the prescription information from two large UK general practice databases that involved women aged 15-49 years. The researchers wanted to probe deeper into the well-known risk of increased clotting that had been associated with combined oral contraceptives.

According to the researchers, the study provided ''evidence for relevant authorities concerned with prescribing guidelines or those involved with regulation of safety of medicines''.

About 9 per cent of women of reproductive age worldwide used oral contraceptives, which he figure rose to 18 per cent of women in developed countries and 28 per cent of women in the UK.