Back in 1968, British researchers began following 46,000 women. They compared women who took birth control pills to those who didn’t and found that those who began taking birth control in the late ’60s lived longer than those who never took it. The researchers also found that the pill decreased the women’s chances of “dying from bowel cancer by 38 percent and from other diseases by 12 percent.” The experts know very little regarding how the pill prolongs life because the study only compared birth control pill takers to those who never took it, and other factors, such as a woman’s general health, could also play a role. They suspect the synthetic hormones that suppress ovulation may also prevent other diseases, including ovarian and endometrial cancer. Sadly, though, the pill still increases the risk of breast and cervical cancer for women who take it today. [AP]
