Flaws Seen in Birth Control Pills’ Studies

WASHINGTON —  Federal officials Wednesday backed away from the findings of two major studies on birth control pills, saying the research was flawed and that a new analysis shows there is no evidence that oral contraceptives cut the risk of heart disease.

The research, presented at a medical meeting in October, created a stir because it was from the nation’s largest women’s health study and found that women on the pill had lower risks of heart disease and no increased risk of breast cancer. That was contrary to what many previous studies had found.

But Dr. Barbara Alving of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funds and oversees the women’s health study, said the work by researchers from Wayne State University in Detroit had not been reviewed by the study’s leaders or the government before it was presented.

A new analysis determined that the heart findings were flawed and that the breast cancer findings also were suspect.

Previous studies have found that pill users have a small, increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks and stroke, Alving said.