Does birth control really cause depression?

Chatelaine quoted two UBC professors for a story on the possible link between birth control and depression. The article reported that a causal connection has not been sufficiently proven.

“Every single doctor has put someone on the birth control pill who has had some adverse mood effects,” said Jerilynn Prior, a UBC professor of endocrinology. “This isn’t a secret.”

Wendy Norman, a family physician and the chair of family planning public health research at UBC, weighed in on a Danish study that found women on birth control were more likely to be depressed.

“This study has important and significant limitations,” Norman said. “It should be taken with a large cup of salt.”