The birth control pill Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo (norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol) is associated with fewer mean days of unscheduled bleeding than another popular birth control pill, Yaz (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol), in healthy, sexually active women, according to a study presented at the 57th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG).

Historical reviews have estimated that at least one third of women who start oral contraceptives (OC) discontinue use after one year. According to one nationwide prospective study, side effects were noted as the most common reason for stopping oral contraceptives with bleeding irregularities being the most common side effect noted2. Furthermore, approximately 80 per cent of women who discontinue OCs, but who do not wish to become pregnant, switch to a less effective method, or no method, of birth control. In addition, a related study found that among women who called or visited their providers about OC side effects, more than 30 per cent complained of breakthrough bleeding.

"While unscheduled bleeding has been regarded as a leading cause for discontinuing oral contraceptives, few studies have compared two commonly prescribed oral contraceptives," said Katherine LaGuardia, director, medical affairs, Ortho Women's Health & Urology. "The results of this first-of-a-kind study lend further support to Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo as an effective birth control option for women desiring more reliable and predictable periods."

"The fact that the Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo group was shown to be associated with significantly less unscheduled bleeding is a factor that physicians and patients can now consider when selecting a suitable birth control option," said Andrew M Kaunitz, lead study author and professor and associate chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville.

Significantly fewer subjects in the Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo group experienced unscheduled bleeding than in the Yaz group (66.7 per cent versus 82.8 per cent; P=0.0010).

Both OC regimens were well tolerated; discontinuation due to any adverse event was 1.7 percent in the Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo group and 2.3 percent in the Yaz group.

The study was conducted and funded by Ortho Women's Health & Urology, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharma, Inc.