The effect of oral contraceptive usage on serum vitamin A levels; a review of literature

Background and Objective: large amounts of vitamin A may cause skin and vision changes or bone pain and also it may lead to liver damage and increased brain pressure. According to the high rate of oral contraceptive usage, this study is to clarify if there is an interaction between oral contraceptives and vitamin A and generally the vitamin A status. Search method: a literature search was performed in the WEB of SCIENCE, MEDLINE PUBMED databases in order to identify studies evaluating serum vitaminA levels in women using an oral contraceptive. The references in relevant reviews and published clinical trials were included in the study. No restrictions were considered.10studies were included in this review. Findings: The results of the studies showed an elevated vitamin A serum levels due to oral contraceptive usage, Vitamin A was significantly higher in women receiving oral contraceptive drugs. While Estrogen can significantly raise the vitamin A level, Progesterone alone had little to no effect but Progesterone may enhance the effect of estrogen on vitamin A. vitamin A levels decrease after terminating the usage. Conclusion: The studies showed the correlation between oral contraceptive and vitamin A levels so the reason of the observed change in vitamin A, which may be for the general lipemia after using contraceptives, and its clinical consequence of this change should be considered in future studies. This results may also demonstrate the suitability of this contraceptive method for people with conditions like diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and other problems which can cause low levels of vitamin A.

Keywords:

oral contraceptives , vitamin A , oral contraceptive side effects , oral contraceptive interactions