Associations of oral contraceptive use with serum lipids and lipoproteins in young women: The Bogalusa Heart Study

PURPOSE: Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of serum lipids and lipoproteins with oral contraceptive (OC) use were examined among white and black women aged 18–27 years in 1985–1986 and 1988–1991 in the Bogalusa Heart Study, a study of cardiovascular disease in a Southern community.

METHODS: Analyses of covariance.

RESULTS: In 1985–1986, white OC users had significantly (p < 0.05) higher adjusted mean total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterols, and lower high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with nonusers; black OC users had higher triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and lower HDL cholesterol. In 1988–1991, white OC users had higher total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol, while black OC users had higher triglycerides. OC use was unrelated to mean HDL cholesterol levels in 1988–1991; however, a lower percentage of white OC users than nonusers in 1988–1991 had HDL cholesterol levels < 35 mg/dl. Longitudinally, white OC nonusers at baseline who used OCs at follow-up had significant increases from baseline levels in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and LDL cholesterols; black women showed an increase only in LDL cholesterol. White women who stopped using OCs by follow-up had a decrease in VLDL and LDL cholesterols, and an increase in HDL cholesterol. White OC users at both exams also had a significant increase in HDL cholesterol, whereas women who began using OCs by follow-up did not.

CONCLUSIONS: The unfavorable lipid profile associated with OC use was not apparent upon discontinued use. Lack of an adverse effect of OC use on HDL cholesterol at follow-up may be the result of changing formulations, and requires further examination.