oral contraceptives (COCs) on polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in Korean women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).METHODS: This university hospital study enrolled 36 Korean women who were newly diagnosed with PCOS based on the Rotterdam criteria and were treated with COCs for at least 1 year. We retrospectively evaluated the ovarian volume and number of antral follicles using ultrasonography and assessed serum AMH levels at baseline and after 1 year of COC treatment.RESULTS: Significant decreases in ovarian volume and antral follicle count were observed after 1 year of COC treatment. Compared to baseline, serum AMH levels were significantly decreased after 1 year.CONCLUSION: COC treatment significantly affects ultrasound-assessed PCOM and serum AMH levels of patients with PCOS.]]>
Contraceptives, Oral, Combined ; Female ; Humans ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of oral contraceptive pill (OCP) as therapy for endometrial hyperplasia (EH) without atypia in reproductive-aged women compared with oral progestin. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out in our reproductive center. Consecutive patients diagnosed with infertility and non-atypical EH identified through electronic database who met inclusion criteria (n=309). Patients were assigned to two treatment groups: OCP (n=216) and oral progestin (n=93); clinical and reproductive outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: Reversal of EH to normal endometrium, clinical pregnancy, live birth and miscarriage rate. Women in OCP group were younger, had higher prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and other uterine pathology and longer duration of infertility than women in progestin group. Reversal of EH was observed in 93.52% women on OCP and in 86.02% women on progestin (p=0.032; adjusted odds ratio [aOR]= 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.06-5.21) after the initial course of treatment for 2 to 6 months. Cyclic OCP (n=184) resulted in better response to treatment compared to continuous OCP (n=32) (95.11% vs. 84.38%; p=0.039; aOR =3.60; 95% CI =1.12-11.55). Clinical pregnancy rate in OCP group was marginally higher than progestin group (87/208, 41.83% vs. 27/90, 30.00%; p=0.054). Miscarriage (25.29% vs. 29.63%; p=0.654) and live birth rate (31.25% vs. 21.11%; p=0.074) were comparable between the groups. CONCLUSION: For the first time we demonstrate that OCP is an effective therapy for non-atypical EH and is associated with higher remission rate compared with oral progestin. Reproductive outcomes are reassuring and comparable between the two groups.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Cohort Studies ; Contraceptives, Oral, Combined ; Drug Therapy ; Endometrial Hyperplasia ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility ; Live Birth ; Odds Ratio ; Pathology ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Prevalence ; Progestins ; Reproductive History ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: This study attempts to gauge the necessity of contraceptive education for women defecting from North Korea (NKDWs). METHODS: We conducted in-depth interviews with six NKDWs who had lived in the Republic of Korea (ROK) for more than three years, to understand the subjects' perceptions, experiences, and opinions regarding contraception. Thematic analyses were performed using qualitative data provided in the survey results. RESULTS: Before their defections from North Korea, none of the NKDWs had received any sex education. Loop is the only contraceptive method available to married women in ROK. After defection, NKDWs were provided information about contraceptive options available in China, but they could not fully understand this information. Furthermore, the information they received was not accurate. Thus, NKDWs had a high need for contraceptive sex education. As per our survey, their preferred education method was at least 3 lessons plus 1 : 1 counseling, as necessary. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that a necessity exists for development of a sex education program for NKDWs to enhance their contraceptive knowledge. Thus, government and health managers have a role to play in developing such a program.
China ; Contraception ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Counseling ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Methods ; Republic of Korea ; Sex Education ; Women's Health

PURPOSE: To report a case of atypical Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease that occurred after an acute angle closure glaucoma attack. CASE SUMMARY: A 48-year-old female presented with bilateral visual disturbance accompanied by headache and ocular pain. The patient had no specific past medical or family history except taking oral contraceptives for 10 years. Despite the normalization of intraocular pressure in a local clinic, a shallow-depth anterior chamber and forward displacement of the iris–lens diaphragm remained unresolved. The depth of the anterior chamber had increased in both eyes after laser therapy but without recovery of her visual acuity. B-scans showed ciliochoroidal effusion. Anterior chamber inflammation was observed in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography showed lobulated and serous retinal detachment involving the macula of both eyes. However, fluorescence angiography findings showed no multiple hyperfluorescence, which is unusual for typical cases of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease. The patient was diagnosed with atypical Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease and was treated with eyedrops and intravenous steroid pulse therapy, after which she was converted to oral medications with immunosuppressants. After 1 month, no serous retinal detachment was detected. After 3 months, best corrected visual acuity (logMAR) was 0.0 in both eyes, and there has been no recurrence on follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Atypical Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease at presentation can mimic acute attacks of angle closure glaucoma. Therefore, if there is no improvement after treatment for angle closure glaucoma including laser iridotomy, other diseases including Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease must be considered and the patient should be closely monitored.
Anterior Chamber ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Diaphragm ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glaucoma, Angle-Closure ; Headache ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Inflammation ; Intraocular Pressure ; Laser Therapy ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Recurrence ; Retinal Detachment ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Uveomeningoencephalitic Syndrome ; Visual Acuity

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To examine the association between use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and the risk of developing inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), in a modern cohort. METHODS: A prospective nested case-control study across sites in the Asia-Pacific region was conducted; involving female IBD cases and asymptomatic controls. Subjects completed a questionnaire addressing questions related to OCP use. Primary outcome was the risk of development of IBD of those exposed to OCP versus non-exposure. Secondary outcomes were development of Crohn's disease (CD) versus ulcerative colitis (UC), and whether age of first use of OCP use may be associated with risk of IBD. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty-eight female IBD cases (41% CD, median age: 43 years) and 590 female age-matched controls were recruited. No significant association was found between OCP use and the risk of IBD (odds ratio [OR], 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.77–3.13; P=0.22), CD (OR, 1.55) or UC (OR, 1.01). The lack of association persisted when results were adjusted for age and smoking. IBD cases commenced OCP use at a younger age than controls (18 years vs. 20 years, P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of subjects from the Asia-Pacific region, we found a modest but not significantly increased risk of developing IBD amongst OCP users.
Case-Control Studies ; Cohort Studies ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Crohn Disease ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Prospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking

While perimenopausal women have low fecundity, they are still capable of becoming pregnant and the majority of pregnancies occurring during perimenopause are unintended pregnancies. Therefore, even during perimenopause, contraception must be used if unintended pregnancies are to be avoided. However, many perimenopausal women and healthcare providers believe that older people should not take combined oral contraceptives (COC) because doing so may be dangerous. However, to date, there is no evidence that taking COC presents an increased risk of cardiovascular events or breast cancer for middle-aged women as compared to other age groups, and in their recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also do not list age itself as a contraindication for COC. Perimenopausal women often experience menstrual irregularity, heavy menstrual bleeding, and vasomotor symptoms. Taking COCs can help control these symptoms and significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and colorectal cancer. The objective of the present review is to examine the usage methods of COC among perimenopausal women and the health issues that may arise from taking COC in perimenopausal women.
Breast Neoplasms ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Contraception ; Contraceptives, Oral, Combined* ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Female ; Fertility ; Health Personnel ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Perimenopause ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: It is well known that breastfeeding has a significant impact on the health of mothers and children. With the growing importance of breastfeeding, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between breastfeeding and the prevalence of diabetes in Korean parous women. METHODS: The data of 5,448 premenopausal parous women aged 20–49 years who agreed to participate in the 5th–6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed in this study. Control group included women who had not breastfed. The subjects who had breastfed were classified into three groups based on the duration of breastfeeding: 0–6 months, 6–12 months, and >12 months. The variables included age, body mass index, education level, income, alcohol drinking, smoking, family history of diabetes, use of oral contraceptives, the number of pregnancies, and regular exercise. RESULTS: Among the subjects, the prevalence of diabetes was significantly lower in women who had breastfed compared to those who had not, with an odds ratio of 0.534 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.289–0.976) in women who breastfed for 0–6 months and 0.575 (95% CI, 0.321–0.990) in women who breastfed for 6–12 months (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study found a reduced prevalence of diabetes in women who had breastfed compared to those who had not. However, no association between the duration of breastfeeding and the prevalence of diabetes could be found.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Breast Feeding* ; Child ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mothers ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Odds Ratio ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Prevalence* ; Smoke ; Smoking

PURPOSE: To investigate whether endogenous and exogenous female hormone exposures were associated with risks for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in postmenopausal women. METHODS: This study included 4,479 postmenopausal females aged 45 years and older who completed the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) V. The participants were divided into 4 groups: subjects with AMD, subjects without AMD, subjects with early AMD, and subjects with late AMD. Variables associated with endogenous and exogenous female hormone exposures were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 4,479 participants, 516 were found to have AMD and 3,963 were normal. There was no significant difference between the AMD and normal groups execpt for age in the risk analysis. Of the total 516 AMD participants, 488 had early AMD and 28 had late AMD. Women with AMD who had used oral contraceptives longer in the past had significantly higher odds of late AMD than early AMD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.013, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.002–1.024). Increasing number of children was also associated with decreased odds of late AMD (OR = 0.672, 95% CI: 0.506-0.893). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exposure to endogenous and exogenous female hormones may influence the risk of AMD progression.
Child ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Female* ; Humans ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration* ; Nutrition Surveys

Since first introduction of oral contraceptive pills in 1960, with increased women's right of sexual decision, oral contraceptives had been used widely around the globe as a highly effective and safe contraceptive method. The physiological mechanisms of oral contraceptives were a reduced maturation of ovarian follicles and blocked ovulation to fertile women. Also, oral pills induce uterine endometrial decidualization, thickening of cervical mucus, disturbance of intrauterine sperm movement and embryo implantation. However, in addition to providing effective reversible contraception to fertile women, oral contraceptive pills offer various non-contraceptive benefits to numerous conditions. In this review, we summarize the list of currently available oral contraceptive pills in Korea and discuss non-contraceptive indications of oral contraceptives pills.
Cervix Mucus ; Contraception ; Contraceptives, Oral* ; Embryo Implantation ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Ovarian Follicle ; Ovulation ; Pregnancy ; Spermatozoa ; Women's Rights

Venous thromboembolism is well known as one of the rare but serious adverse effects of combined oral contraceptives (COCs). The COCs with third and fourth generation progestogens were found to have higher risk of venous thrombosis than those with second generation progestogens. We present a case of pulmonary embolism in a 23-year-old nulligravid woman who was using COCs containing the third generation progestogen (desogestrel). At the time of presentation of the adverse effect, she had been using the COCs for 4 months. She had no additional risk factors for thrombosis such as smoking, surgery, tumor as well as genetic factors. This case demonstrates even young women in otherwise good health may be at risk of venous thromboembolism from low-dose formulations of COCs as an over-the-counter drug. We describe this case with a brief review of literatures.
Contraceptives, Oral* ; Contraceptives, Oral, Combined ; Desogestrel* ; Female ; Humans ; Progestins ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis ; Young Adult