Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40537985›Full record

ReviewJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2025

Research Review: Are sampling biases masking long-term effects of hormonal contraceptive use in adolescence on risk for depression?

Frances S Chen, Bita Zareian, Marisa A Nelson, Nina Edwards, Christine Anderl

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Frances S ChenDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Bita ZareianDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Marisa A NelsonDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Nina EdwardsDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Christine AnderlKnowledge Media Research Center, Tübingen, Germany.

Funding

Wave IV Data CollectionP01HD031921 · NICHD · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI HARRIS, KATHLEEN MULLAN · 1994 to 2020
$86.1M
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health): Wave VII Core ProjectU01AG071448 · NIA · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI ROBERT A HUMMER · 2021 to 2026
$40.2M
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health): Wave VI Cognition and Early Risk Factors for Dementia ProjectU01AG071450 · NIA · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI AIELLO, ALLISON E, HUMMER, ROBERT A · 2021 to 2025
$16.2M
CIHR PJT-155935Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) P01 HD31921Michael Smith Health Research BCNIA NIH HHS U01 AG071448NIA NIH HHS U01 AG071450NIA NIH HHS U01AG071450NICHD NIH HHS P01 HD031921
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGrowing evidence suggests that the use of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) during adolescence may be linked to an increased risk for depression. This review examines major inconsistencies that have been reported regarding this relationship, and in particular, how the common practice of combining 'never users' and 'former users' of HCs in analyses obscures patterns that are detectable when these groups are analyzed separately.

methodsA review was conducted of research examining the relationship between HC use and depression to determine what data-analytic choices were commonly made by individual researchers. Specifically, we assessed whether the past history of HC use had been accounted for in each reported analysis.

resultsThe majority of papers published between 2013 and 2022 did not account for the former use of HCs. These papers reported mixed findings regarding the relationship between HC use and depression. In contrast, the subset of papers that did account for former use of HCs, or otherwise explicitly addressed common biases affecting the interpretation of observational data, revealed a more consistent relationship between HC use and depression, particularly for those who began using HCs during adolescence.

conclusionWe conclude that there is consistent evidence of a relationship between adolescent HC use and long-term risk for depression and offer several recommendations to help ensure that future work in this area will yield consistent, interpretable findings. Although this paper focuses primarily on HCs and depression, many of the analytical approaches and recommendations outlined within it are also relevant to research on the side effects of other drugs and medications.

Indexed as

Contraceptive Agents, HormonalDepressionDepressive DisorderAdolescentFemaleHumansSelection BiasContraceptive Agents, HormonalMental healthmood disorderoral contraceptivespubertysex hormones

Identifiers

PMID40537985
PMCPMC12626181

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.