Oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy: How strong a risk factor for venous thromboembolism?

Leslie Skeith; Grégoire Le Gal; Marc A Rodger

doi:10.1016/j.thromres.2021.03.012

Oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy: How strong a risk factor for venous thromboembolism?

Thromb Res. 2021 Jun:202:134-138. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2021.03.012. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Authors

Leslie Skeith¹, Grégoire Le Gal², Marc A Rodger³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: laskeith@ucalgary.ca.
² Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

PMID: 33836493
DOI: 10.1016/j.thromres.2021.03.012

Abstract

Exogenous hormone therapies, such as combined oral contraceptives (COC) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), cause blood hypercoagulability and are a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). There is controversy on how strong this "provoking" risk factor is, and how other risk factors may synergise VTE risk. We aim to review the latest literature on the risk of initial and recurrent VTE with COC and HRT use to provide guidance for decision-making about duration of anticoagulation, and guide future research efforts.

Keywords: Contraceptives, oral; Estrogen replacement therapy; Venous thromboembolism.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Contraceptives, Oral, Combined / adverse effects
Female
Hormone Replacement Therapy / adverse effects
Humans
Risk Factors
Thrombophilia* / drug therapy
Venous Thromboembolism* / chemically induced
Venous Thromboembolism* / drug therapy

Substances

Contraceptives, Oral, Combined