Health: Prostate cancer and oral contraception

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A possible link has been made between oral contraception and prostate cancer as a new study finds countries with higher contraceptive pill use by women also have higher rates of prostate cancer in men.

While still largely speculative, the authors suggest that use of the pill could lead to higher levels of excreted estrogen in the environment, which in turn could affect the hormone balance of the larger population.

Conducted by Canadian researchers and published in the British Medical Jounal , data used in the analysis shows 20.5% of New Zealand women in a heterosexual relationship use the pill, well above the world average of 8.5%.