Volume 30, Issue 173, July 2026

Common side effects of hormonal contraception: a narrative review of recent studies

Iga B. Borejszo^1♦, Agata Leszek², Natalia Moskwa², Małgorzata Lubowiecka², Joanna H. Marczak³, Ksenia Kobielak⁴, Katarzyna Marut⁴, Bianka Błaszkiewicz⁴, Zuzanna Lecyk²

¹Szpital Praski p.w. Przemienienia Pańskiego, Al. Solidarności 67, 03-401 Warsaw, Poland
²4th Military Clinical Hospital in Wroclaw, Rudolfa Weigla 5, 50-981, Wrocław, Poland
³CSK UCK WUM, Stefana Banacha 1A, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
⁴Uczelnia Medyczna im. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie w Warszawie, Al. Solidarności 12, 03-411 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Iga Barbara Borejszo, Szpital Praski pw. Przemienienia Pańskiego Sp. z o.o., Aleja Solidarności 67, 03-401 Warszawa, Poland

ABSTRACT

Hormonal contraception is commonly used around the globe. Although there is no doubt about its effectiveness and additional therapeutic benefits, concerns about potential side effects keep influencing contraceptive choice and continuation. The goal of this narrative review is to summarise current evidence regarding both rare but severe risks: cardiovascular events and breast cancer, as well as more common but less significant side effects: headaches, mood changes, weight gain, and metabolic alterations. In this review, we focused on the following contraceptive methods: combined oral contraceptives, progestin-only pills, and hormonal intrauterine devices. Major medical databases were searched, with a focus on studies that were published within the last 10 years. The studies included were cohort studies, randomized clinical trials, cross-sectional studies, meta-analyses, and reviews. The results show a significant distinction in the profiles of side effects between estrogen-containing and progestin-only methods. Combined hormonal contraceptives have been shown to cause an increase in the frequency of cardiovascular events and migraine episodes. The best researched relation between combined hormonal contraceptives and migraine is hormonal-withdrawal migraine. Combined hormonal contraceptives have also shown unfavorable metabolic changes and an increased risk of breast cancer. Progestin-only contraceptives did not show a significant increase in cardiovascular risk, changes in lipid profiles, and have not been shown to worsen migraine symptoms. However, progestin-only methods demonstrate a similar increase in breast cancer risk as combined methods. Results considering the influence that hormonal contraceptives have on mood changes and weight gain do not firmly state that such a relationship exists.

Keywords: combined hormonal contraceptives, progestin-only contraceptives, side effects

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e117ms3875

PDF

Published: 03 July 2026