Br J Ophthalmol 1998;82:538-542 ( May )
Oral contraception and eye disease: findings in two large cohort
studies
M P Vessey,a
P Hannaford,b
J Mant,a
R Painter,a
P Frith,c
D Chappeld
a Department of Public Health, Institute of
Health Sciences, Headington, Oxford OX3 7LF, b Department of General
Practice and Primary Care, Foresterhill Health Centre, Aberdeen AB25
2AY, c Oxford Eye Hospital, Radcliffe
Infirmary, Oxford OX2 6HE, d Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The
Medical School, Newcastle on Tyne NE2 4HH
Correspondence to: Professor M P Vessey.
Accepted for publication 27 November 1997
AIM
To investigate the relation between oral
contraceptive use and certain eye diseases.
METHODSAbstraction of the relevant data from the
two large British cohort studies of the effects of oral contraception,
the Royal College of General Practitioners' (RCGP) Oral Contraception
Study and the Oxford-Family Planning Association (Oxford-FPA)
Contraceptive Study. Both cohort studies commenced in 1968 and were
organised on a national basis. Between them they have accumulated over
850 000 person years of observation involving 63 000 women.
RESULTSThe conditions considered in the analysis
were conjunctivitis, keratitis, iritis, lacrimal disease, strabismus,
cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment, and retinal vascular lesions.
With the exception of retinal vascular lesions, there was no consistent evidence of important increases in risk of eye diseases in users of
oral contraception. There was about a twofold increase in the risk of
retinal vascular lesions in recent pill users in both studies
(statistically significant only in the RCGP study). The increase was
not limited to any specific type of lesion and may well reflect
diagnostic bias.
CONCLUSIONOral contraceptive use does not appear
to increase the risk of eye disease, with the possible exception of
retinal vascular lesions.
Keywords:
oral contraception;
eye disease;
cohort studies
© 1998 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
