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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Reprod. Health

Sec. Gynecology

Genetic variation associated with side effects of hormonal contraception exposure: A narrative review

Provisionally accepted
Mariah NuzzoMariah Nuzzo1Elise EricksonElise Erickson2Susan W. GrothSusan W. Groth3Yang YuYang Yu3Theresa KoleckTheresa Koleck4Huashi LiHuashi Li2Kiana MartinezKiana Martinez2Adnin ZamanAdnin Zaman5Caitlin DreisbachCaitlin Dreisbach1,3*
  • 1Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Rochester, New York, United States
  • 2The University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
  • 3University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, United States
  • 4University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, United States
  • 5University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States

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Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) are commonly prescribed medications that have had immeasurable impacts on quality of life and health of women and families globally. However, usage of exogenous hormones is not without risks, and patients often report a variety of side effects, ranging from burdensome to life-threatening. For some patients, side effects of HCs are severe enough to cause medication discontinuation or switching to alternative forms of contraception. Variability in side effect profiles may indicate heritable risk factors for some side effects. Understanding these patterns or risk profiles may help clinicians anticipate severe adverse events, match patients with suitable medications more rapidly, and improve patient outcomes and adherence. To support further research in this field, this narative review summarizes what is currently known about pharmacogenetic interactions with respect to HCs and specific polymorphisms suspected to contribute to adverse side effects and outcomes.

Keywords: pharmacogenomics, Contraception, Symptoms, side effects, Single nucleotid polymorphism (SNP)

Received: 08 Oct 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Nuzzo, Erickson, Groth, Yu, Koleck, Li, Martinez, Zaman and Dreisbach. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Caitlin Dreisbach, caitlin_dreisbach@urmc.rochester.edu

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material