Abstract:
Abstract
Background: Hormonal contraceptives are synthetic biochemical substances used to prevent
unplanned pregnancy. However, these contraceptives may have some common adverse effects that
include irregular menses, amenorrhea, and serious but uncommon side effect such as increased
risk of thromboembolic events.
Objectives: The present study aimed to compare the hematological parameters of reproductiveage women taking hormonal contraceptives at the University of Gondar Comprehensive
Specialized Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia in 2021.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2021. A total of
240 study participants were recruited by using a consecutive sampling technique. Data on sociodemographic variables and clinical data were collected by employing a structured questionnaire
via face-to-face interviews and reviewing medical records respectively. Venous blood was
collected for complete blood count analysis using Unicel DxH 800 coulter hematology analyzer.
Data was entered into Epi-data 4.4.3.1 version then exported to Statistical Package for Social
Science software for analysis. Kruskal-Wallis H, dunn-Bonferroni pairwise comparison test, and
Spearman’s correlation analysis were used for inferential statistics. A p-values less than 0.05 were
considered statistically significant.
Result: The median and interquartile range of platelet count among combined oral contraceptive
users was 285(238-332) which is significantly higher than that of depot medroxyprogesterone
acetate user 246(220-226) (p=0.010), implant user 247(221-297) (p=0.034), and controls 256(224-
278) (p=0.015). The result also showed long-term use of implant negatively correlated with red
blood cell count (p=0.033).
Conclusion: This finding concludes that combined oral contraceptive users had increased platelet
count than controls and long-term use of implants can have a negative effect on red blood cell
count. Therefore, women suffering from low platelet count may benefit from the none
contraceptive benefits of oral contraceptives for those desiring contraceptives. However, in places
where anemia is common, long-term use of implants may add more morbidity due to their negative
effect on the RBC count of women Therefore, baseline evaluation of complete blood count in
women desiring contraceptive methods would also be recommended.
Keywords: Contraceptive, Hematologic parameter, Reproductive-age, Women, Ethiopia
