Oral Contraceptive Pills May Reduce Deep Capillary Plexus Vessel Density

Deep capillary plexus (DCP) vessel density may be reduced in women using oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), according to research published in the Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy. These findings suggest that these contraceptives may potentially predispose women who use them to retinal vascular diseases.

Researchers included 32 women who used oral contraceptive pills (3 mg drospirenone and 0.03 mg ethinylestradiol; mean age, 31.1 years) for at least 1 year, and 32 age-matched control group participants (mean age, 30.6 years) who did not use oral contraception in the cross-sectional, observational investigation. Study participants underwent optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A) assessments of the superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) vessel density, foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area and perimeter, acircularity index, and foveal density during the follicular phase of their menstrual cycles (day 3).

Vessel densities of the DCP were significantly reduced in all sectors among participants who used oral contraceptive pills compared with those who did not (P ≤.038 for all), the report shows. However, the vessel densities of SCP and RPC, FAZ area and perimeter, acircularity index, and foveal density were similar between the two groups (P >.05 for all).

“Using this imaging modality, changes in retinal microvascularization can be evaluated noninvasively in women taking [oral contraceptive pills],” according to the study authors. “In addition, the decrease detected in DCP [vessel densities] in this study may indicate that [oral contraceptive pills] may predispose for retinal vascular diseases, which should be further investigated in studies with a long-term follow-up.”

Study limitations include an observational nature, a small sample size, short study duration, single center design, and failure to evaluate oral contraceptive pills with different doses of estrogen and progesterone.