Common painkiller may not be to blame for blood clots in women on the pill

Xintong Li and colleagues analyzed data on more than 3 million hormonal contraceptive users in four European countries and suggest that the raised VTE risk among NSAID users may stem at least partly from pre-existing health problems. The study included women aged 15–49 from 2014–2024 and used a self-controlled case series to compare hormonal contraceptive use alone with periods before, during and after combined NSAID use; risk rose two weeks before treatment, peaked on the day of initiation, and ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and the negative-control acetaminophen showed similar patterns.