Danish Study Links Depo-Provera to 4-Fold Meningioma Risk in 3 Million Women
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 11
Danish Study Links Depo-Provera to 4-Fold Meningioma Risk in 3 Million Women
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Jul 11
Summary
Twenty-five years of Danish health data covering about 3 million females found the strongest meningioma association in injectable medroxyprogesterone, with roughly a fourfold relative risk increase.
Combined oral contraceptives and progestogen-only mini-pills showed weaker links of about 1.5-fold, and the elevated risk appeared limited to current use rather than past exposure.
Absolute risk remained small: lifetime meningioma incidence is about 5 per 1,000 women, rising to roughly 6 per 1,000 for medroxyprogesterone users aged 25 to 44.
Most meningiomas are benign in about 90% of cases, though they can still cause seizures or cognitive problems and are typically treated with surgery or radiation.
The findings add to scrutiny already facing Depo-Provera after thousands of lawsuits since 2024 and a December 2025 FDA label warning, while the European Medicines Agency continues its own review.