Another study suggests Yaz carries greater risk for blood clots
Another study confirms that birth control pills containing the hormone drospirenone are more likely to cause life threatening blood clots than oral contraceptives with older generation hormones. The study, released Monday, involves 330,000 Israeli women. Researchers concluded that the blood clot risk with drospirenone-containing pills was 43 to 65 percent greater than with other types of hormones.
Birth control pills that contain drospirenone include Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, and Safyral, all made by Bayer. There are also generic brands made by other manufacturers available in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that it has assigned an expert panel to review studies on the safety of the pills. The agency cited previous studies that evaluated data from 835,826 women ranging in age from 10 to 55 who were taking pills containing drospirenone over time. Those studies suggested the risk for blood clots was as much as 74 percent greater for women taking pills with drospirenone compared to women taking oral contraceptives containing other hormones.
All birth control pills carry a risk for blood clots, but mounting reports of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder damage and deaths in women taking Yaz and Yasmin put the safety of drospirenone into question. Bayer has long stood by its top-selling drug, alleging that its pills are no more dangerous than other birth control pills.
The drug company currently faces thousands of lawsuits from women who say they were not adequately warned that using the pills could put their lives at risk. Bayer says it will hold all comments on the new studies until after the FDA panel review in December.
Source: Fox News
Related posts:
- Health Canada reviewing data linking Yaz to greater risk of blood clots
- Young women at even greater risk for blood clots with Yaz, Yasmin
- FDA: Yaz, Yasmin put users at risk for dangerous blood clots
- Yaz, Yasmin puts women at greater risk for gallbladder damage
- Women more at risk of blood clots during first six months on ‘The Pill’
