Randomised trial, 2000
Is drospirenone-based birth control as effective as desogestrel-based, and which is better tolerated?
Both prevent pregnancy equally well. The drospirenone-based pill caused less weight gain and reduced PMS symptoms more during treatment.
What they did
Randomized trial across 26 European centers. 900 women started one of two birth control pills; 627 completed 26 cycles of treatment plus a 3-month follow-up. Body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, PMS symptoms, and period pain were tracked.
What they found
Both pills prevented pregnancy effectively. There were 6 total pregnancies (3 in each group), none due to contraceptive failure. Women taking drospirenone had lower body weight than baseline and gained significantly less weight than the desogestrel group. PMS symptoms decreased with drospirenone during treatment. Period pain rates were the same but severity was less with drospirenone.
What it means for you
This is a large study, but women and doctors knew which pill each woman was taking, which can bias results. The findings apply only to these two specific pills. Additional studies are needed to compare drospirenone with other birth control methods.
627
women completed
26 cycles
treatment duration
6
total pregnancies
About the study
- Original title
- A comparative investigation of contraceptive reliability, cycle control and tolerance of two monophasic oral contraceptives containing either drospirenone or desogestrel
- Authors
- Foidart JM, Wuttke W, Bouw GM et al.
- Journal
- The European journal of contraception & reproductive health care : the official journal of the European Society of Contraception
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 900
- What was tested
- Drospirenone-containing birth control pill versus desogestrel-containing pill; both combined with ethinylestradiol
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/13625180008500387
Topics
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