A long term study has recently revealed a surprising side effect to women's oral contraceptives.

According to the research carried out by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, women can be protected from certain types of cancer for as long as 30 years thanks to their birth control method.

This is the longest-running study in the world to look into the effects of oral contraceptives, following participants for up to 44 years.

The study examined the risks of all types of cancer in women who have taken the pill. The results showed that women who had taken the oral contraceptive pills, had a lower risk of colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer compared to women who had never taken the pill. The protection from these cancers has lasted for at least 30 years after they had stopped taking the pill.

These results back up a 2016 study which discovered the deaths from ovarian cancer fell significantly in the Western world between 2002 and 2012 thanks to the common use of the contraceptive pill.

Another study in 2015 from the University of Oxford looked at 27,276 women and also found that taking the pill long-term could protect against endometrial cancer, which affects the womb.

However some previous studies have linked use of the pill to a slight increase in breast cancer risk.

Were you surprised to find this out? Let us know in the comments.

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