de Wit AE, et al. - In a prospective cohort study of 1,010 adolescent girls followed up for 9 years, done from September 1, 2005, to December 31, 2016, researchers examined the correlation between oral contraceptive use and depressive symptoms and investigated whether this relationship was influenced by age and which particular symptoms were related to oral contraceptive use. With nonusers having a higher mean (SD) socioeconomic status and more frequently being virgins, at age 16 years, oral contraceptive users mainly varied from nonusers. However all users combined did not exhibit greater depressive symptom scores in comparison with nonusers, adolescent users reported greater depressive symptom scores in contrast with their nonusing equivalents, which continued following adjustment for age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. More crying, hypersomnia, and more eating problems were especially reported by adolescent contraceptive users vs nonusers. In conclusion, however, when all age groups were combined and oral contraceptive use exhibited no relationship with depressive symptoms, 16-year-old girls had greater depressive symptom scores when using oral contraceptives. Moreover, in adolescents who are using oral contraceptives, observing depressive symptoms is significant, as the use of oral contraceptives could influence their quality of life and place them at risk for nonadherence.