Smileband Health issues

A recent Danish study has linked hormone-based birth control methods to an increased risk of breast cancer, but experts say these contraceptives have protective effects.

The research published in The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists collected data from 1.8 million women between the ages of 15 and 49 for nearly 11 years. They found that hormone-based birth control methods were linked to 13 extra cases of breast cancer among 100,000 women using these these contraceptives for a year.

However, the overall risk is small and varies depending on a woman's age and genetics. 

In fact, some experts say women should not be alarmed because the benefits of birth control outweigh the risks.

'The absolute risk cancer is very small,' epidemiologist Dr JoAnn Manson of Brigham And Women's Hospital told Daily Mail Online. 'There are counter-balancing benefits [of hormone-based birth control methods] There are studies that support Dr Manson's claim that hormone-based contraceptives protect against several types of cancer.

Research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics of Gynecology earlier this year,  examined data from 46,000 women for up to 44 years and found that women who had ever used oral contraceptives were less likely to develop colorectal, endometrial and ovarian cancer.

The study revealed contraceptive pills were associated with a 33 percent reduced risk of developing endometrial and ovarian cancer, and about a 20 percent reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Researchers also found that these protective benefits seemed to last more than 30 years after women have stopped using the pill.

A 2015 study published in The Lancet Oncology also found that oral contraceptives reduced the risk of developing endometrial cancer, while another study published last year in the Annals of Oncology found that they protect against dying from ovarian cancer.

Another published in the Journal of Women's Health in 2012 linked contraceptive pills to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

Researchers found that women on birth control scored higher on cognitive tests than women who had never taken birth control. These effects could also be seen for years after the women had stopped taking the pill.

Although that study focuses specifically on oral contraceptive pills, Dr Manson stresses that no studies have linked hormone-based contraceptives to an increased absolute risk of cancer and mortality. However, for those who are worried, there are birth control methods that do not contain hormones that are effective and affordable. 

Many people are familiar with Mirena, Liletta and Skyla IUDs which used the hormone progestin. But there's a hormone-based IUDs called Paragard which can protect against pregnancy for up to 12 years. 

Meanwhile, the hormone-based IUDs only work for three to six years.

The Paragard IUD is wrapped in a tiny copper and inserted into the uterus.