Prevalence of side effects from the use of oral contraceptives of medical students in a private institution

Abstract

Contraceptive methods (CM) are increasingly being used, with emphasis on male condoms and oral contraceptives (OC). However, no article was found that addressed the frequency in students in this academic environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the side effects prevalence of OC use in women studying at the Olinda Medical School (FMO). The study is cross-sectional, prospective, observational and descriptive. The sample was
probabilistic and randomized considering the number of academics, which is currently 347. Thus, included 90 medical
students using OC. Data collection was performed in October 2018, through a questionnaire consisting of 19 closed and open epidemiological questions regarding the use of adverse effects from OC. The parameters of the qualitative variables were expressed by their absolute and relative frequencies. The project was approved by the FMO ethics committee. It was observed 35 (31.5%) academic who presented side effects. Of these, 29 (82.9%) had more than one side effect. Among these, the most frequent were: headache, water retention and weight gain. The findings show the frequency of sid effects in FMO medical students within the confidence interval reported in the literature.