Genetic Confounding of the Association Between Age at First Hormonal Contraception and Depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous research has shown that females who use hormonal contraception are at increased risk of developing depression, and that the risk is highest among adolescents. While this finding could reflect age-specific effects of exogenous hormones on mental health, genetic liability for mental disorders could be confounding the association. Our goal was to test the plausibility of this hypothesis by determining whether polygenic liabilities for major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are associated with younger age at hormonal contraception initiation.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study using data from the Danish iPSYCH2015 sub-cohort, a representative sample of people born in De

SUBMITTER: Mundy J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11884912 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature