---
title: Does oral contraceptive use affect daily mood? | Niyora
description: Yes. Birth control pills can change how mood varies from day to day. The effect depends on what type of pill a woman takes and whether she or her family has a
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-oral-contraceptives-on-daily-self-ratings-of-positive-and-negative-2001/
---

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- Does oral contraceptive use affect daily mood?

Survey study, 2001

# Does oral contraceptive use affect daily mood?

Yes. Birth control pills can change how mood varies from day to day. The effect depends on what type of pill a woman takes and whether she or her family has a history of psychiatric problems.

 Early or limited evidence

96 women: 17 first-time oral contraceptive users, 34 long-time users, and 45 never-users

## What they did

96 women (17 who just started taking the pill, 34 who had used it long-term, and 45 who had never taken it) completed mood surveys every day for 35 days.

## What they found

Women on triphasic pills (hormones that change during the cycle) had greater swings in positive mood across the cycle. Women starting monophasic pills (constant hormone) had greater swings in positive mood than women on triphasic pills. Personal and family psychiatric history appeared to affect negative mood variability.

## What it means for you

Hormones in birth control pills can affect daily mood swings in some women, with the effect depending on pill type and psychiatric history. The study only tracked mood for 35 days, which is a short time period.

96

total women

35

days of mood tracking

17

first-time pill users

## About the study

Original title Effects of oral contraceptives on daily self-ratings of positive and negative affect Authors Oinonen KA, Mazmanian D Journal Journal of psychosomatic research Year 2001 Study design Survey study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(01)00240-9](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(01)00240-9)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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