An independent study was conducted by researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The results were published in the British Medical Journal during the summer of 2009.
The Leiden University study concluded that birth control pills containing the ingredient drospirenone – like Yasmin – are two times more likely to cause blood clots than other birth control pills, which generally contain levonorgestrel. The alleged increased risk of blood clots from Yasmin side effects was not offset by effectiveness. Researchers discovered that all of the oral contraceptives involved in the study were equally effective in preventing pregnancy.
From the abstract:
Participants Premenopausal women <50 years old who were not pregnant, not within four weeks postpartum, and not using a hormone excreting intrauterine device or depot contraceptive. Analysis included 1524 patients and 1760 controls.
Main outcome measures First objectively diagnosed episodes of deep venous thrombosis of the leg or pulmonary embolism. Odds ratios calculated by cross-tabulation with a 95% confidence interval according to Woolf’s method; adjusted odds ratios estimated by unconditional logistic regression, standard errors derived from the model.
Results Currently available oral contraceptives increased the risk of venous thrombosis fivefold compared with non-use (odds ratio 5.0, 95% CI 4.2 to 5.8). The risk clearly differed by type of progestogen and dose of oestrogen. The use of oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel was associated with an almost fourfold increased risk of venous thrombosis (odds ratio 3.6, 2.9 to 4.6) relative to non-users, whereas the risk of venous thrombosis compared with non-use was increased 5.6-fold for gestodene (5.6, 3.7 to 8.4), 7.3-fold for desogestrel (7.3, 5.3 to 10.0), 6.8-fold for cyproterone acetate (6.8, 4.7 to 10.0), and 6.3-fold for drospirenone (6.3, 2.9 to 13.7). The risk of venous thrombosis was positively associated with oestrogen dose. We confirmed a high risk of venous thrombosis during the first months of oral contraceptive use irrespective of the type of oral contraceptives.
Conclusions Currently available oral contraceptives still have a major impact on thrombosis occurrence and many women do not use the safest brands with regard to risk of venous thrombosis.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/339/aug13_2/b2921
