| Women in the United States commonly use oral contraceptives (OCs), with highest use among young women. Interactions between OCs and nutrition-related biomarkers may result in poorer nutritional serum levels. However, interactions between OCs and micronutrients including folate, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, copper, and selenium, have not previously been studied on a nationally representative sample in the United States. This cross-sectional study uses NHANES 2011-2012 data to describe nutrition-related micronutrient laboratory levels, and potentially confounding factors such as dietary quality, dietary supplement use, ratio of family income to poverty, and health insurance, for US women ages 18-24 years, using OCs compared to those not using OCs. Chi-square tests and t-tests were used to determine significant difference between those using and not using OCs. Insignificant differences were found with serum folate, iron, and zinc. Selenium and copper had a significantly higher serum value among those who reported using OCs. Vitamin B12 was found to have a significantly lower mean serum value for those on the pill. OC use as well as serum laboratory levels may be influenced by many additional factors, however our confounding factors in this study showed no significant difference. Additional research with further screening questions in regards to supplement, diet and birth control use would be beneficial to further understand OC interactions with nutritionrelated serum levels.
Key Words: Oral Contraceptives, NHANES, Micronutrients, Serum Values |