Oral contraceptives impact not immediately reversible following discontinuation

New research, issued in May at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Fourteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress held in Washington, DC, revealed that hormonal changes induced by oral contraceptives (OC) are not immediately reversible after discontinuation of use, noting that female sexual dysfunction (FSD) can last up to a year.

Despite the benefits, OC use has been associated with sexual dysfunction and androgen insufficiency.

OCs are known to decrease serum testosterone levels by decreasing ovarian production of testosterone and by increasing production of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) from the liver. These changes had been assumed to be reversible after discontinuation of OC use.

Yet, in the study of 102 pre-menopausal women with FSD, SHBG values in the OC group were seven times higher than those in the never-user group.
OCs lower the free androgen index, in part, by substantially increasing SHBG levels. Despite a decrease in SHBG values after discontinuation of OC use, SHBG levels remained continuously elevated for up to one year in comparison with those in the control group. The free androgen index may remain low for a prolonged period.

SOURCE: AACE media advisory, May 19, 2005.