Oral contraceptives and life expectancy.

Life expectancy for women in the United States is 77.34 years; women who take oral contraceptives (OCs) for five years before the age of 30 can expect to live about four days longer. This is due primarily to protection against ovarian and endometrial cancers. For women taking pills for five years in their thirties there is a maximum loss of 18 days on the average that is attributable to OC use, and for women over 45 this rises to 80 days. The decreased life expectancy is due mainly to the increased mortality from myocardial infarction and stroke. This is substantially less than life lost due to use of a variety of other substances, most notably tobacco.