Determinants of oral contraception use in a southern European setting

Abstract

Objectives To describe the determinants of oral contraceptive (OC) use in Catalonia (Spain) in 2006.

Methods More than 4,400 women, aged 15–49, were interviewed using a standardised health questionnaire. The main variable was OC use on any of the two days before the interview. Independent variables were socio-economic class, marital status, number of children, visits to the gynaecologist, and lifestyles. The prevalence and the odds ratios of OC use were calculated.

Results Around 17% of the women of reproductive age used OCs. The typical OC user was an affluent, nulliparous woman in her third decade, who had visited a gynaecologist during the preceding year. Being married was not related to OC use while having two children or more was negatively related. The use of OCs followed a curve that started during adolescence, reached a peak at age 24, decreased thereafter and flattened out after having reached a low point in the 30s.

Conclusions Results from this large sample of women confirm that OC use is lower in Spain than in many other European countries. The difference reflects divergent social and cultural attitudes toward fertility control, sexuality, and the roles of women in society, rather than problems with availability and accessibility.

KEYWORDS:

• Contraception
• Oral contraceptives
• Prevalence
• Spain

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Anna Mompart and Pilar Brugulat of the Health Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya. We are grateful to Dave McFarlane and Birgit Ferran for editorial assistance during the preparation of the manuscript. The study was partially funded by the CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) of the Spanish Ministry of Health.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and the writing of the paper.