Stress-Hormone Dynamics and Working Memory in Healthy Women Who Use Oral Contraceptives Versus Non-Users.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Women who use oral contraceptives (OCs) may have a higher risk of developing a depression, which is associated with both vulnerability to stress and cognitive dysfunction. OCs disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis by suppressing endogenous sex steroid production including estradiol. The HPG axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are known to interact, possibly through modulations driven by estradiol. OCs may affect HPA regulation capacity, i.e., disturb cortisol dynamics such as the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and influence cognition such as working memory (WM). We hypothesize that OC use is associated with blunted cortisol dynamics and impaired WM performance relative to non-users.

Methods

Data from 78 healthy women in the r

SUBMITTER: Hogsted ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8606688 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature