Oral Contraceptives, Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Risk Profile in Pre-Menopausal Women

Oral Contraceptives, Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Risk Profile in Pre-Menopausal Women

Birth control pills are the most commonly used method of birth control. The purpose of this research study is to examine whether birth control pills change heart disease risk and how the body handles blood sugar when given to different women.

The oral contraceptive pill is the most commonly used birth control method. It is debated whether the birth control pill affects how the body handles insulin and sugar, or whether the pill changes heart disease risk. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether certain factors, such as how the body processes hormones, and demographic factors (e.g. body weight and race), influence how the pill affects the handling of insulin and sugar, and heart health.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Premenopausal, regular-cycling women 18-35 years
• Either African-American or Caucasian (African-American and Caucasian women will be BMI-matched)
• non-smoker.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diabetes
• Clinically significant pulmonary, cardiac, renal, hepatic, neurologic, psychiatric, infectious, and malignant disease
• Contraindications to oral contraceptive use (history of blood clots, heart attacks or stroke, vascular disease, coagulopathy, prolonged immobilization, breast cancer, migraine head-aches, major surgery within past 6 months, blood pressure >160/100 mmHg, pregnancy or lactation)
• Use of hormonal contraceptives, glucose-lowering medications, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-hypertensive or other vasoactive drugs within previous 3 months