Oral contraceptives associated with increased risk of lupus

The ratio of women to men with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nine to one and the incidence increases after puberty. Hormones secreted by the body are therefore believed to play an important role in the origins of the disease. A new large, population-based observational study found that the use of oral contraceptives was associated with an increased risk of SLE, particularly among women who had recently started taking them. The study was published in the April issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

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