A new study shows that male birth control shots are effective, but they come with side effects.
The study was co-sponsored by the United Nations and it was published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
. The research looked at how effective the contraceptive shot was in 320 healthy men in monogamous relationships with female partners.
The men were aged 18 to 45 and they were examined to make sure they had a normal sperm count when the study began. Data was collected every eight weeks when the shot was administered.
The shot is 1,000 milligrams of a synthetic form of testosterone and 200 milligrams of norethisterone enanthate, which is a derivative of the female hormones progesterone.
The shot makes the body believe that it is getting enough testosterone, thus shutting down its own production of the substance. The contraceptive method was then discovered to be effective in about 96% of users who continuously used the shot.
Four pregnancies occurred among the men’s partners, which resulted in three live births. However, there were a slate of side effects that came from the use of these shots.
The most pronounced effect on men was depression, as well as other mood disorders. The study was halted early in March 2011 due to the effects that it was having on patients.
Birth control methods for women also have side effects that affect their mood, including depression.
