Cardiovascular death among women under 40 years of age using low-estrogen oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices in Finland from 1975 to 1984.

Abstract

From 1975 to 1984, there were 1,585,000 women-years of oral contraceptive use and 1,975,000 women-years of copper-bearing intrauterine device use in Finland. During this 10-year period, 20 women between 15 and 39 years of age died of pulmonary embolism, 41 of coronary heart disease, and 311 of intracranial hemorrhage. The diagnoses were confirmed in 89% at necropsy examination. The contraceptive method used by patients was determined in 84% by means of inquiry sent to family planning clinics. Among the 20 patients who died of pulmonary embolism, four died while taking the pill, which gives a relative risk of 1.2 (95% confidence limits, 0.37 to 3.62; p = 0.78). The corresponding values for death from myocardial infarction and intracranial hemorrhage were 0.19 (95% confidence limits, 0.05 to 0.70; p = 0.01) and 0.36 (95% confidence limits, 0.18 to 0.70; p = 0.03), respectively. None among the copper intrauterine device users under the age of 40 years died of pulmonary embolism during 1,383,000 women-years of intrauterine device use. The relative risk of death from intracranial hemorrhage among intrauterine device users was 1.18 (95% confidence limits, 0.70 to 1.99, p = 0.25).