Differences between populations in eastern and western
Europe with regards to contraception use
T. Chernev1, A. J. Jakimiuk2, P.
Madelenat3, K. Cha’Ban4, P. Bergmans5, M. Preik6, and E. Lee7
1University
Maternity Hospital ‘Maichin dom’, Clinic for Fetal Medicine, Sofia, Bulgaria,
2Polish Academy of Sciences, Medical Research Centre, Warsaw, Poland, 3Hopital
Bichat Claude Bernard, Service de Gynecologie-Obstetrique, Paris, France, 4St
Vincentiusziekenhuis, Antwerp, Belgium, 5Janssen-Cilag, Tilburg, The Netherlands,
6Janssen-Cilag, Medical & Scientific Affairs, Neuss, Germany, and
7Janssen-Cilag, EMEA Medical Affairs, Beerse, Belgium
Objectives Compare
characteristics and contraceptive practices in women from a number of eastern
and western European countries enrolled in a large trial of transdermal
contraception.
Design and methods Baseline characteristics of 573 women enrolled
in a 6-month trial of transdermal contraception from seven European countries (Belgium,
Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Poland, Romania and Russia) were compared. All
statistical comparisons were made using two-tailed analyses with P=0.05
required for significance.
Results In total, 322 women (56.2%) were from Eastern
Europe (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Russia) and 251 (43.8%) from Western
Europe. Mean age was higher in the Western Europe group compared with Eastern
Europe (29.8 + 6.6 vs 27.3 + 5.6 years; P<0.001). Body mass index was higher in women from Western Europe compared with those from Eastern Europe (22.2+3.3 vs 21.1+3.1; P50.001). In the 3 months before entering the study, 43 women (17.1%) from Western Europe, as compared with 91 women (28.3%) from Eastern Europe, were not using any contraceptive method. Oral contraception was the most prevalent method in both regions. However, a significantly greater proportion of women in Western Europe were using this method (72.5 vs 39.4%; P<0.001). Barrier methods were popular in Eastern Europe (25.5%), but much less so in Western Europe (3.2%) (P<0.001). None of the women in the trial from eastern European countries was using an implant. Over 3% of women in eastern European countries practised withdrawal methods compared with less than 0.5% in western Europe (P=0.028).
Conclusions Contraceptive practice differs between eastern and western European
countries, with women from Eastern Europe more likely to use barrier
contraception or no contraceptive method.