Birth Control Pills Shrink Part Of Brain Controlling Appetite, Sex Drive, Mood In Women: Study

Women who take recourse to contraceptive pills often attention! Although the method has been adapted as the most popular hassel free way to deal with unwanted pregnancy and sometimes to treat irregular menstrual cycle, PCOS and other condition but they can also be linked to structural changes in brain.

A new study has found that birth control pills can have an impact on the brain of women who take them. According to the study women who often take birth control pills had smaller hypothalamus volume, compared to women not consuming the pill.

The hypothalamus is that part of the brain which is located at the base, above the pituitary gland. The organ is primarily responsible for the production of hormones and helps to regulate essential body functions like hunger, mood, body temperature, sex drive, heart rate and sleep cycles. A smaller volume of hypothalamus will result in the ill functioning of these body functions causing restlessness, depression, lack of appetite and mood disorder.

A group of 50 healthy women, including 21 women who were on birth control pills were studied for the research. MRI scans of all women were taken, and a validated approach was used to measure hypothalamic volume. 

This is the first time that research has been conducted on the effects of birth control pills on the brain. This study was presented at the 105th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America – RSNA 2019. 

A dramatic difference in the size of the brain structures was found in women who were taking oral contraceptives, versus those who were not.

Further investigation needs to be done on the brain structure and brain function of those who take birth control pills.