Birth control pills are a common form of contraception. Because they affect your hormone levels, birth control pills can affect many parts of your body, including your blood glucose levels. Birth control pills may increase your blood glucose levels, not lower them, and the effects of different kinds of birth control pills on your blood glucose levels is still being researched.
What Are Birth Control Pills?
Birth control pills work to prevent pregnancy by interfering with the hormones that control the menstrual cycle. Birth control pills contain synthetic hormones that prevent ovulation and also work to make the uterus inhospitable for the implantation of a fertilized egg. Most birth control pills need to be taken every day to disrupt the menstrual cycle. When used properly, they make it very difficult for the biological processes needed for pregnancy to occur.
Birth Control and Glucose
Birth control pills are designed to disrupt the hormonal changes that cause pregnancy, but these altered hormone levels also can affect other parts of your body. The hormones in the pills can also affect the way your metabolism works. Taking birth control pills can mildly elevate your blood glucose and insulin levels, which may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other health problems, a 2009 article in "The Cochrane Collaboration" explains.
Different Kinds of Pills
There are many kinds pf birth control pills that vary depending on the kind of hormones found in the pills. Some pills, known as combined pills, contain both synthetic estrogens and progestins. These combined pills have less of an effect on blood glucose levels than pills that contain only progestins, a review in "Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders" notes. Different kinds of synthetic progestins may also have differing effects on blood glucose levels .
Considerations
If you are concerned about diabetes, it is important to talk to your doctor before taking birth control pills. You may need to have your blood glucose levels measured or you may need to use different kinds of birth control pills. Birth control pills may also lead to other health problems, including a tendency to form blood clots. However, it is unlikely that birth control pills on their own will cause diabetes.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Oral Contraceptives
- "Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders"; Metabolic effects of contraceptive steroids; Regine Sitruk-Ware and Anita Nath; 2011
- "The Cochrane Collaboration"; Steroidal contraceptives: effect on carbohydrate metabolism in women without diabetes mellitus; Lopez et al.; 2008
