Source: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Date: 2005-01-18
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111163505.htm
Getting Pregnant While On The Pill: Yet Another Health Hazard Of Being
Overweight
SEATTLE -- Overweight and obese women who take oral contraceptives are
60 percent to 70 percent more likely to get pregnant while on the
birth-control pill, respectively, than women of lower weight, according
to new findings from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will be
published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The study, led by epidemiologist Victoria Holt, Ph.D., M.P.H., a member
of Fred Hutchinson's Public Health Sciences Division, is the largest
case-control study of its kind to examine the link between body-mass
index and oral-contraceptive failure. The research was conducted in
collaboration with Delia Scholes, Ph.D., a senior investigator at the
Center for Health Studies at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
"The results of our study represent yet another reason why obesity is a
health hazard," Holt said. "Overweight and obese women have a
significantly higher risk of getting pregnant while on the pill than
women of normal weight, and this translates into a substantial number of
unplanned pregnancies." Among 100 women taking oral contraceptives for a
year, Holt's study suggests that an additional two to four women will
get pregnant due to being overweight or obese.
"This higher risk of pregnancy also translates into a higher number of
obesity-related complications of pregnancy, which range from gestational
diabetes and high blood pressure to Cesarean delivery," Holt said.
Body-mass index, or BMI, is a measure of body fat based on height and
weight. The World Health Organization divides BMI into four categories
for both men and women: underweight (18.5 or lower), normal (18.5 to
24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9) and obese (30 or greater). A BMI
calculator is available on the National Institutes of Health Web site at
http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm
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