Student Health encourages any woman taking drospirenone-containing
birth control pills to make an appointment to discuss changing to a
different type of pill, and especially women that might be in the
following groups who are considered to have more risk for this
complication of blood clots: women over age 35 years who smoke, women
with obesity, women who have a family history of blood clots or strokes
at young ages.
Preliminary results of the FDA-funded study suggest an approximately 1.5-fold increase in the risk of blood clots for women who use drospirenone-containing birth control pills compared to users of other hormonal contraceptives. However this risk is still very small, and previous studies gave conflicting results. At this time the FDA has NOT suggested that women discontinue these pills abruptly until they discuss their options with their clinicians.
For more information, go to the "Health Alert" section on the right side of the Student Health home page or access the FDA website http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm257337.htm.
We will continue to monitor these developments, and plan to alert patients if the FDA changes it current recommendations.