101701 STUDY FINDS BIRTH CONTROL PILL LEADS TO INCREASED RISK OF BONE FRACTURES

OTTAWA, Oct 17, 01 (CWNews.com/LSN.ca) - A study published
in the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association
Journal finds that the birth control pill is linked to a
20-30 percent increased risk of bone fractures.

The study looked at a national sample of 524 women aged
25-45 years culled from data of the Canadian Multicenter
Osteoporosis Study. It found that the pill was associated
with a clinically significant decrease in bone density.

The study is likely to be used as more evidence in a UK
court trial set for January 2002 where three pharmaceutical
companies which manufacture the pill are being sued by
women. Lawyers representing the families of 122 women who
said they were not warned of the potential side effects of
the pill, including potentially fatal blood clots.

In July a Dutch study published in the British Medical
Journal confirmed long-held suspicions that the birth
control pill had been found to increase the chances of
potentially fatal blood clots