Like any medication, birth control pills come with potential side effects. Potential health risks of birth control pills include lower bone mineral density, heart disease, fatal blood clots, impaired muscle gain, long-term sexual dysfunction, migraines, weight gain, mood changes, yeast infection, depression and even cancer. According to a new study, there’s another potential side effect to add to the list. Researchers say birth control pills may impact the size of a woman’s brain, or even shrink a portion of it.
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To conduct the study, 50 healthy women underwent an MRI, and researchers calculated each woman’s hypothalamic volume. Of the participants, 21 women were taking birth control pills at the time. Study author Michael L. Lipton explained, “We found a dramatic difference in the size of the brain structures between women who were taking oral contraceptives and those who were not. This initial study shows a strong association and should motivate further investigation into the effects of oral contraceptives on brain structure and their potential impact on brain function.”
While the study was characterized as preliminary, it showed that the women who were taking birth control pills had a significantly smaller hypothalamus volume. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for appetite, mood, body temperature, sleep patterns, sex drive and heart rate. It’s also responsible for producing essential hormones.
Researchers also found that smaller hypothalamic volume was associated with depression, as well as increased feelings of anger. However, they did not find a link between hypothalamic volume and cognitive performance.