LONG-TERM ADVERSE EFFECTS CAUSED BY CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN WOMEN: A LITERATURE REVIEW.

Abstract

Oral contraceptives are steroids intended to prevent unwanted pregnancies and regular menstrual disorders. Available in great diversity in the market and in the Unified Health System (SUS), they are the most accepted contraceptive method by women, but they have several harmful effects on health. The aim of this review was to analyze the main repercussions of oral contraceptives on women's lives in the long term. The methodological approach of this work offers a compilation of cross-sectional, qualitative and descriptive bibliographic research. Twenty-five articles were found in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases in the last 11 years after inclusion and exclusion criteria. The effects found were breast cancer, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, cholangiocarcionoma, glioma, diabetes mellitus, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), systemic arterial hypertension, venous thromboembolism, infertility, Crhon's disease, chronic inflammation and pericarditis. Through the studies obtained, it was observed that cancer is the most prevalent adverse effect in women who use the contraceptive pill for a long time, with breast cancer being the most prominent. Thus, it was analyzed that oral contraceptives for a long time bring several harms to health that may be irreparable for life.