Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
GidMK's profile
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
Health Nerd
Verified account
@GidMK

Tweets

Health NerdVerified account

@GidMK

Epidemiologist. Writer (Guardian, Observer etc). "Well known research trouble-maker". PhDing at @UoW Host of @senscipod Email gidmk.healthnerd@gmail.com he/him

Sydney, New South Wales
theguardian.com/profile/gideon…
Joined November 2015

Tweets

  • © 2021 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    1. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      The reporting of this trial is a nightmare that could easily cause unintended pregnancies THE PILL ISN'T MAKING EVERYONE DEPRESSEDpic.twitter.com/3TOiMkA9ww

      2 replies 11 retweets 19 likes
      Show this thread
    2. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      Study is here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.13115 …

      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      Show this thread
    3. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      Basically, the researchers took a group of people who'd been part of the NHANES data collection in both 2004 and 2017, and split them into 3 groups: - started oral contraceptives as a teen - started oral contraceptives as an adult - never used oral contraceptives

      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      Show this thread
    4. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      They then compared these groups in terms of their risk of depression at the final follow-up in 2017 They found that the risk of depression was associated with whether people used oral contraceptives, and when they started (teen vs adult)

      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      Show this thread
    5. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      Essentially, the pill caused people to be depressed Scary!pic.twitter.com/yaly9YwSus

      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      Show this thread
    6. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      HOWEVER, there are some major limitations to this piece of research Firstly, there's the issue of confoundingpic.twitter.com/niHgv4Ex57

      1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      Show this thread
    7. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      The groups of women that they looked at were different in some very important ways - people who had used the pill as adolescents were on average older, more likely to smoke, more likely to have endometriosis, poorer, etc etc

      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
      Show this thread
      Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

      Now, the researchers used what's known as a propensity model to try and control for this, but as ever it's really hard to account for every factor in studies like this We can only control for what we know and measure!

      9:47 PM - 28 Aug 2019
      1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          There's also a big issue with what's known as reverse causality Basically, it's hard to know whether pills = depression or depression = pills Potentially, this study showed that people who are experiencing depression might be more likely to go on the pillpic.twitter.com/I6pOGeptF3

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        3. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          This is somewhat supported by the study, because people who started using oral contraceptives in their teens were less likely to use them as adults - it's not unlikely that their mental health influenced the decision to use contraceptives rather than the other way around

          2 replies 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        4. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          It's also worth noting that, while the headline statistic is TRIPLE THE RISK, the absolute risk of depression associated with oral contraceptives was more like 5-10%

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
          Show this thread
        5. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          Even more importantly, a large meta-analysis that came out last year looked at some specific types of oral contraceptive and found no relationship with depression at allpic.twitter.com/WjMyaPM7vi

          1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
          Show this thread
        6. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          Does the pill have side-effects (sometimes really nasty ones)? Absolutely. I don't for a second want to diminish the impact that oral contraceptives can have

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
          Show this thread
        7. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          That being said, the fearmongering in these headlines is a massive headache. There may be ~some~ association between oral contraceptive use and depression, but it's not nearly as scary as you might've seen reported

          1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
          Show this thread
        8. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          Also, the side-effects of oral contraceptive use usually pale in comparison to the side-effects of pregnancy, so it's a bit of a challenging argument

          1 reply 1 retweet 0 likes
          Show this thread
        9. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          I wrote a blog about a similar study a while back, with almost identical issueshttps://medium.com/@gidmk/why-is-the-pill-so-depressing-1b429d271d33 …

          1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
          Show this thread
        10. Health Nerd‏Verified account @GidMK 28 Aug 2019

          I should also add - the authors of the paper were very upfront about all of this, and emphasized that women should still use contraceptives, so I think it's very much the media's problem here

          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
          Show this thread
        11. End of conversation

      Loading seems to be taking a while.

      Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

        Promoted Tweet

        false

        • © 2021 Twitter
        • About
        • Help Center
        • Terms
        • Privacy policy
        • Cookies
        • Ads info