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Original Research ajog.

org

GYNECOLOGY
Initiation and continuation of long-acting reversible
contraception in the United States military healthcare
system
Daniel P. Chiles, DO, MPH; Timothy A. Roberts, MD, MPH; David A. Klein, MD, MPH

BACKGROUND: Long-acting reversible contraception is more effec- stable (41.7e50.1/1000 women/year) for intrauterine methods, although
tive for pregnancy prevention than shorter-acting contraceptive methods the rate for subdermal implants increased from 6.1e23.0/1000 women/
and has the potential to reduce healthcare disparities and costs. However, year. In analysis of women who selected intrauterine contraceptives,
long-acting reversible contraception is underused in the United States. 61.2% continued their method at 36 months, and 48.8% continued at
One population of interest is beneficiaries of the United States military 60 months. Among women who selected the implant, 32.0% continued
healthcare system who have access to universal healthcare, including their method at 36 months; however, 45.8% continued until 33 months
no-cost, no-copay contraception with unlimited method switching, and (ie, 3 months before the currently recommended expiration date).
comprise a large, actual use cohort. Efforts to increase long-acting Compared with intrauterine contraceptive users, implant users were more
reversible contraception initiation and continuation in this population likely to discontinue their method during the 36 months after insertion
may improve health outcomes and mitigate the profound consequences of (hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.56e1.62; P < .001).
unintended or mistimed pregnancy on readiness and cost to the military. Adolescents aged 14-19 years were the least likely age group to
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine long-acting reversible contra- discontinue the implant before 36 months; women aged 35-40 years were
ception initiation and continuation rates among the diverse population with the least likely to discontinue an intrauterine contraceptive before 60
universal healthcare who are enrolled in the US military healthcare system. months. In multivariable analysis that controlled for demographic factors
STUDY DESIGN: This study is a retrospective cohort of >1.7 million and contraceptive type, early contraceptive method discontinuation was
women, aged 14e40 years, who were enrolled in the US military most likely among women aged 20-24 years, implant users, and women
healthcare system, TRICARE Prime, between October 2009 and with method initiation in military clinics.
September 2014. Individuals were assessed for long-acting reversible CONCLUSION: In the US military healthcare system, TRICARE Prime,
contraception initiation and continuation with the use of medical billing the initiation of long-acting reversible contraception is low but increasing,
records. Method continuation and factors that were associated with early and continuation rates are high. This evidence supports long-acting
method discontinuation were evaluated with the Kaplan-Meier estimator reversible contraception as first-line recommendations for women of all
and Cox proportional hazard models. ages who seek contraception.
RESULTS: During the study dates, 188,533 women initiated
long-acting reversible contraception. Of these, 74.6% women selected Key words: continuation, contraception, intrauterine device, LARC,
intrauterine contraceptives. Method initiation rates remained relatively long-acting reversible contraception, subdermal implant

F orty-ve percent of pregnancies


in the United States are unintended;
of these, 42% will result in elective
means to safely and effectively prevent
unplanned pregnancies, reduce health-
care disparities, and control costs for
of these methods, LARC options account
for approximately 12% of the contra-
ceptives used by women aged 15e44
termination.1,2 Unintended pregnancy is women of reproductive age.4-9 years in the United States.11 Recent
associated with adverse health outcomes LARC methods, which include prospective data suggest that easily
for mother and child and lower socio- the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine accessible and affordable LARC can
economic and educational achieve- system (LNG-IUS), the copper- reduce rates of abortion, unintended
ment.1,3 In recent years, major medical containing intrauterine device (Cu- pregnancy (including teenage preg-
societies and the Centers for Disease IUD), and the etonogestrel-releasing nancy), and healthcare-associated
Control and Prevention have endorsed implant (implant), offer advantages costs.8,9,12,13
the provision of long-acting reversible over other reversible contraceptive LARC generally is continued by at
contraception (LARC) as potential methods because of their superior ef- least 80% of users by 12 months; how-
cacy. Moreover, in a recent analysis of ever, data in the United States regarding
Cite this article as: Chiles DP, Roberts TA, Klein DA. 4708 participants in the prospective current LARC methods are limited
Initiation and continuation of long-acting reversible cohort study The Contraceptive beyond this duration.14-16 By 3 years, in
contraception in the United States Military Healthcare
CHOICE Project (CHOICE), the combination with international data,
System. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016;:.
36-month continuation rate of LARC intrauterine contraceptives appear to be
0002-9378/$36.00 was 67% compared with 31% using continued by 49e80% of users10,16-22
Published by Elsevier Inc.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2016.03.027 noneLARC hormonal methods.10 and the implant by 30e56% of
Despite the high efcacy and reliability users.10,17,20,23-25 At 5 years, intrauterine

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contraceptives appear to be continued provided at military treatment facilities or Cu-IUD), the type was noted as
by 33e55% of users.14,22 The wide or contracted through civilian providers unknown.
ranges may be due to signicant differ- for all active-duty service members, Only the rst instance of a CPT
ences in study methods and sample military retirees under the age of 65 insertion code was captured per partici-
populations.14,17,22 years, and members of the national pant. Women who had subsequent CPT
The extent to which members of the guard and reserve who have been called codes that documented a removal and
US military, military retirees, and their up to active duty. Family members of insertion of the same LARC method
family members initiate and continue these individuals, which include spouses during that month were counted as a
LARC is largely unknown. Approxi- and dependent children under the age of method continuation. Women who had
mately 350,000 women of reproductive 26 years, are also eligible for care in this CPT code 11983, which documented
age currently serve in the US militarys healthcare plan. We used the Military implant removal and replacement and
active duty or selected reserve force, and Health System Management Analysis appeared as the rst episode of LARC
1 million others have a parent or spouse and Reporting Tool (M2) to review insertion during the study period, were
currently serving in one of these capac- medical and pharmacy billing records of counted as a rst insertion. Subsequent
ities.26 These women have access to enrolled women during the study time occurrences of this or another implant
universal healthcare, including no-cost period. Records were entered into this insertion code after an initial episode
contraception with unlimited method data repository monthly and reect of implant insertion were counted as a
switching. Despite these advantages, >7 enrollment status and healthcare use method continuation.
unintended pregnancies a year occur for during the previous month. Billing LARC continuation rates were
every 100 active-duty service women, records from military clinics were drawn assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis,
and more than one-half of all pregnan- directly from the militarys electronic which measured the time in months
cies among active-duty service women medical record; information from between initiation and discontinuation.
are unintended.27,28 These unintended civilian network clinics and pharmacies Participants were followed until they
pregnancies have a physical and was collected from billing statements. reached 1 of 3 endpoints: method
emotional impact on both the mother The institutional review board of Brooke discontinuation, disenrollment from
and infant and degrade military readi- Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Hous- TRICARE Prime, or the end of the study
ness. Efforts to increase LARC initiation ton, Texas, approved this study. period. Continuation rates were calcu-
may improve health outcomes for this The primary outcome of interest was lated over the rst 36 months for all
population and mitigate the profound time from insertion to discontinuation methods and over the rst 60 months
consequences on readiness and cost to of individual LARC methods, which for intrauterine contraceptives, and were
the military.29 included the Cu-IUD, the 52-mg LNG- further characterized by examination of
Previous studies on long-term IUS, and the implant. Of note, the demographic characteristics at the time
continuation of LARC are limited in 13.5-mg, 3-year LNG-IUS was approved of insertion, which included age, mili-
that they entailed regional sampling, for use in 2013 and was used infre- tary duty status, type of clinic where the
random assignment of participants into quently in military treatment facilities in method was inserted, and method type.
contraceptive method types, or contin- 2014; therefore, cases were not distin- The 36- and 60-month analyses repre-
uation rates of 1 year.10,14-16,22 This guished from the 52 mg model and were sents the Federal Drug Administrations
study was designed to avoid these limi- excluded from analysis of continuation approved duration of use for the implant
tations and provide additional evidence beyond 36 months. and the 52-mg LNG-IUS, respectively. In
on long-term continuation of LARC. Records were assessed for initiation addition, both study durations allow for
The primary objectives of this study were and discontinuation of LARC methods comparisons with previously established
to (1) determine initiation and long- using Current Procedural Terminology benchmarks for method continuation.
term continuation rates of LARC in a (CPT) codes. We identied episodes of Statistical analyses were conducted
large, diverse population with universal LARC insertion using the following CPT with SPSS software (version 22; IBM
healthcare and (2) understand LARC codes: 11981, 11983, 11975, and 11977 Corporation, Armonk, NY). Descriptive
usage patterns in the US military for the implant, and 58300 insertion of statistics were used for demographic
healthcare system. an intrauterine contraceptive. Episodes characteristics at the time of LARC
of LARC discontinuation were identied initiation: age (14e19, 20e24, 25e29,
Materials and Methods by the use of CPT codes 11976, 11982, or 30e34, and 35e40 years), eligibility
This study is a retrospective cohort of 58301. We attempted to identify the status (service members vs family
>1.7 million women, ages 14e40 years, specic type of intrauterine contracep- members and retirees), and clinic type
who were enrolled in the military tive inserted using pharmacy records and used. The chi-square test and indepen-
healthcare insurance program, TRI- associated Healthcare Common Proce- dent samples t-tests were used to assess
CARE Prime, between October 1, 2009 dure Codes (J7300, J7302, and S4981). If the relationship between the subject
and September 30, 2014. TRICARE we were unable to determine the specic demographics and LARC type selected.
Prime covers medical care that is intrauterine method used (LNG-IUS The Kaplan-Meier estimator was used to

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TABLE 1
Baseline characteristics of women initiating long-acting reversible contraception, stratified by age, military duty
status, clinic type, and contraceptive type
Intrauterine contraceptive Etonogestrel implant
Demographic group Total (n 188,533), n (%) (n 140,553), n (%) (n 47,980), n (%) P value
Age group, y <.001
14e19 18,371 (9.7%) 7,690 (5.5%) 10,681 (22.3%)
20e24 69,007 (36.6%) 46,418 (33.0%) 22,589 (47.1%)
25e29 54,337 (28.8%) 44,346 (31.6%) 9,991 (20.8%)
30e34 30,042 (15.9%) 26,635 (19.0%) 3,407 (7.1%)
35e40 16,776 (8.9%) 15,464 (11.0%) 1,312 (2.7%)
Military duty status <.001
Servicewomen on active duty 45,695 (24.2%) 30,334 (21.6%) 15,361 (32.0%)
Family members and retirees 142,774 (75.8%) 11,0157 (78.4%) 32,617 (68.0%)
Clinic type <.001
Military clinic 128,522 (68.2%) 90,342 (64.3%) 38,180 (79.6%)
Civilian Network clinic 59,999 (31.8%) 50,199 (35.7%) 9,800 (20.4%)
Contraceptive type
Levonorgestrel intrauterine system 51,470 (36.6%)
Copper intrauterine device 5,983 (4.3%)
Unknown 83,100 (59.1%)
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.

estimate survival duration (ie, continu-


ation duration) of each LARC type over
the study timeframe and for the different FIGURE 1
demographic groups. The generalized Long-acting reversible contraception initiation among 14- to 40-year-old
Wilcoxon test was used to compare the women in the military healthcare system
survival distributions of the different
groups, including censored observa-
tions. Cox proportional hazard models
were used to assess the independent
association of the demographic charac-
teristics and LARC type with early
discontinuation. An alpha level of .05
was set for all comparisons.

Results
On average, there were 887,646 (stan-
dard deviation [SD]23,006) enrolled
women in our inclusive age range per
month; the average length of TRICARE
enrollment was 36.1 months. Our
analytic sample consisted of 188,533
initiators of LARC, which included
140,553 women who initiated intra-
Inclusive dates: October 2009 to September 2014; each year includes fiscal year data (for example,
uterine contraceptives and 47,980 year 2010 data includes insertions from 2009e2010).
women who initiated a subdermal Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
implant. Women were followed for an

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IUS, and 6.5% initiated the Cu-IUD.


FIGURE 2
We generally were unable to categorize
Continuation of long-acting reversible contraception at 36-months
the intrauterine contraceptive type
by method type
among individuals who received in-
sertions in network clinics. The implant
was initiated in 25.4% of women.
Intrauterine contraceptive users were
signicantly older than implant users
(26.9 years old [SD 5.4] vs 23.0 [SD
4.7]; P < .001). Family members of
military service members were more
likely than servicewomen on active duty
to select intrauterine contraceptives.
Furthermore, women who were seen
for LARC placement in civilian network
clinics were more likely than those
who were seen in military clinics
to select intrauterine contraceptives
(Table 1).
The intrauterine contraception inser-
tion rate remained relatively stable dur-
ing the study interval, with a range of
41.7e50.1 insertions per 1000 enrolled
women per year; the implant insertion
rate increased from 6.1 insertions per
1000 women per year in 2010 to 23.0
insertions per 1000 women per year in
2014 (Figure 1).
Implant continuation rates were
76.8% at 12 months, 58.6% at 24
months, 45.8% at 33 months, and 32.0%
at 36 months (Figure 2; Table 2). Intra-
Blue indicates intrauterine contraception; green indicates etonogestrel implant. Hazard ratio, 1.59; uterine contraceptive continuation rates
95% confidence interval, 1.56e1.62; P < .001. were 83.5% at 12 months, 70.6% at 24
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
months, 61.2% at 36 months, 54.1% at
48 months, and 48.8% at 60 months
(Figure 2; Table 2). Continuation rates of
average of 14.7 (SD 13.8) months after the insertion at a civilian network clinics intrauterine contraception did not differ
LARC insertion before achieving one (Table 1). by device type (excluding unknown
of the study endpoints (range, 1e60 Of all women who initiated LARC, types [P .461]; including unknown
months). At the time of LARC initiation, 74.6% selected intrauterine contracep- types, [P .644]; Figure 3). Overall, the
the average age of the women in our tives. Among women seen in military implant was more likely than intrauter-
sample was 25.9 (SD 5.5) years; 75.8% clinics for intrauterine contraception, ine contraceptives to be discontinued at
were family members, and 31.8% had 56.1% denitively initiated the LNG- <36 months (hazard ratio, 1.59; 95%

TABLE 2
Kaplan-Meier estimates of long-acting reversible contraception method continuation over 60 months
Monthsa
Method 12 24 33 36 48 60
Intrauterine contraceptive 83.5 (83.3e83.7) 70.6 (70.2e71.0) 63.4 (63.0e63.8) 61.2 (60.8e61.6) 54.1 (53.5e54.6) 48.8 (48.0e49.6)
Etonogestrel implant 76.8 (76.4e77.2) 58.6 (57.8e59.4) 45.8 (44.8e46.8) 32.0 (31.0e33.0)
a
Data are continuation rates with 95% confidence interval.
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.

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condence interval, 1.56e1.62; P <.001;


FIGURE 3
Figure 2).
Continuation of intrauterine contraception over the first
In a univariable analysis that was
60 months of method use by device type
stratied by contraceptive type, adoles-
cents had the highest implant conti-
nuation rates over the rst 36 months
(P < .001), whereas 35- to 40-year-old
women had the highest intrauterine
contraceptive continuation rates of any
age group (Figures 4 and 5; Table 3). In
multivariable analyses that controlled for
demographic factors and contraceptive
type, the likelihood of early LARC
discontinuation was highest among
women who were 20e24 years old at
the time of insertion, who were seen in
a military clinic rather than a network
clinic for method insertion, and who
selected an implant for contraception
rather than an intrauterine contraceptive
(Table 4).

Comment
In the US military healthcare system
that was studied, LARC initiation was
low but increasing, and continuation
rates are similar to those found in
previous studies. Individuals with TRI-
CARE Prime have access to contracep-
tion at no personal nancial cost, with
free and unlimited method switching
and a comprehensive healthcare records Blue indicates levonorgestrel intrauterine system; green indicates copper intrauterine device; brown
system. Therefore, this is an ideal pop- indicates unknown. P .644.
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
ulation to evaluate LARC initiation and
continuation. Approximately one-half
of women who selected the implant rates of intrauterine contraceptives Previous studies that have examined
continued their method at least until approached the middle of the afore- the association between LARC continu-
3 months before the recommended mentioned ranges, and implant rates ation and age found lower continuation
expiration date; almost one-half of were at the lower end of the known among adolescents than among adults
all women who selected intrauterine ranges. However, from 33e36 months as a group.10,16 We subdivided older
contraception continued their method (3 months before the Food and Drug LARC users by age and discovered a
until 60 months. Administrations approved expiration more nuanced relationship. Adolescents
Our data, which show an overall date for the implant), 13.8% of users, had lower continuation rates than
increased rate of LARC initiation over including 16.9% of adolescent users, women in their late thirties, but higher
the past several years, were consistent discontinued the implant. At 33 months, continuation rates than women in
with national trends.15,30,31 Military approximately one-half of implant users their twenties at 36 months and women
healthcare enrollees appear to have continued the method. Perhaps the in their early twenties at 60 months.
higher initiation of LARC than do 33-month continuation rate of the Moreover, the data from this study sug-
enrollees of another large US healthcare implant is a better criterion for judging gest that adolescents have the highest
plan.30 The extent to which this has to do method continuation, because removals implant continuation rates of any age
with universal healthcare without copay after 33 months likely indicate receipt of group, approaching those of intrauterine
is unknown. recommended care before method contraceptives. These higher continua-
Our study data are consistent with expiration. Notably, more recent data tion rates, compared with women in
recent data that demonstrate that LARC suggest that the implant and LNG-IUS their twenties who represent the major-
typically is continued by >80% of may be effective for 1 year after the rec- ity of LARC users, suggest that concerns
users at 12 months.10,15,16 Continuation ommended removal date.32 about method continuation among

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Second, downstream effects of LARC


FIGURE 4
could include an improvement in
Continuation of the etonogesterel implant over the first
military readiness, because pregnancies
36-months of use by age
among active-duty service members and
their family members directly affect
operational readiness. According to
1 study, among women surveyed
approximately 1 year into deployment,
10% reported having been unintention-
ally pregnant during that year, which
indicates that the pregnancy occurred
during deployment.27 In another study,
11% of servicewomen were unable to
complete a 15-month combat deploy-
ment because of a pregnancy.33 Service-
women report less frequent use of
contraception during deployment than
at home, despite benets on contracep-
tion and menstrual regulation (eg,
menstrual suppression with the LNG-
IUS).29 Those deployed also report
difculty with initiating and continuing
contraception because of logistical
and institutional barriers to obtaining
reproductive health services in a
deployed environment.29 Use of highly
effective, long-term contraceptive op-
tions that can be started before deploy-
ment and continued without need for
medical support during deployment
Blue indicates 14-19 years old; green indicates 20-24 years old; brown indicates 25-29 years old; could make a valuable contribution to
purple indicates 30-34 years old; yellow indicates 35-40 years old. P < .001. the health and welfare of these women.
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016. Strengths of this study include the
large number of contraception initia-
tions that were identied and the follow-
adolescents should not be a barrier pregnancy.27-29 Approximately one-half up duration of up to 5 years, which
to LARC use in this age group. The of active-duty enlisted personnel and allowed for analysis of continuation rates
high LARC continuation rates that were 20% of all active-duty spouses are 25 throughout the Food and Drug Admin-
found in our study support national years old. Thirty percent of military istrations approved duration of use for
recommendations for clinicians to children are between ages 12e22 years.26 the LNG-IUS and the implant. Enrollees
recommend the most effective methods Rates of unintended pregnancy in the have access to no-cost contraception
(ie, LARC) before they recommend military healthcare system are thought to including no copays and unlimited
less effective methods during contra- be higher, albeit decreasing over time, method switching. The database also
ceptive counseling to women of all than in the general US population likely identied that the vast majority
ages.4 (perhaps because of LARC initiation of services were sought by enrollees,
The results of this study that show patterns).27,28 Furthermore, LARC may because it captures both military and
both an increase in initiation and high reduce healthcare disparities, because civilian care billed through TRICARE
continuation of LARC have military rates of unintended pregnancy are Prime.
implications. First, in the military higher among young women, minor- Limitations of this study include its
healthcare system, LARC may have the ities, and those with lower income (eg, retrospective design and dependence on
same potential to reduce rates of unin- enlisted ranks), even in this universal coding accuracy.34 We were unable to
tended or mistimed pregnancies and to healthcare system.27-29 This is especially evaluate for the indication for LARC
increase cost-savings, as it has in the relevant, because approximately one- initiation. Continuation rates of the
general US population.8,9,12,13 This is third of active-duty service members LNG-IUS, for example, which were
important for the military population, self-identify as members of minority inserted exclusively for heavy menstrual
which tends to be young and at risk for groups.26 bleeding, are not known. Similar to

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another large retrospective analysis,


FIGURE 5
reasons for early discontinuation were
Continuation of intrauterine contraception over the first
not evaluated.15 This may have led to a
60 months of method use by age
lower estimation of method continua-
tion compared with previous studies,
because we had to count contraceptive
removals for desired return of fertility as
a method failure rather than censoring
them from further analysis. In the
CHOICE project, desired return of
fertility accounted for up to 6e26% of
early removals, depending on duration
of use and method type; the vast ma-
jority requested removal for bleeding,
pain, or other side-effects.10,14 Expul-
sions of intrauterine contraceptives were
not specically identied. Race and
ethnicity were not evaluated indepen-
dently in our analysis because of poor
reporting of such information in the
database. Regarding study endpoints,
perhaps analysis of LARC method
continuation 3 months before the Federal
Drug Administrations recommended
device expiration would represent a more
practical depiction of continuation.
Furthermore, data from the military
clinics and pharmacies were obtained
from the militarys electronic medical
record; data from civilian network
clinics were dependent on submitted
billing statements. This was evident in
Blue indicates 14-19 years old; green indicates 20-24 years old; brown indicates 25-29 years old;
the higher likelihood of missing intra-
purple indicates 30-34 years old; yellow indicates 35-40 years old, P < .001.
uterine contraceptive type among
Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
women who received insertions in
civilian network clinics. Of all women
with a known intrauterine contraceptive Overall, the high rate of LARC recommendations for women of all
type selected in our study, 89.6% continuation that was found in this ages who seek contraception, including
selected the LNG-IUS, and 10.4% analysis supports LARC as rst-line service members and their families,
selected the Cu-IUD. Based on this
and national data, it is reasonable to
suspect that at least 80% of intrauterine TABLE 3
contraceptive users selected the LNG- Univariable analysis of early contraceptive method discontinuation by age
IUS.12,16,30 In any case, analyses that
Intrauterine
included the unknown types showed the Implant 95% contraception 95%
same continuation rates as those that Age discontinuation Confidence discontinuation Confidence
excluded them. Many women enrolled in group, y at <36 moa Interval at <60 moa Interval
the TRICARE Prime insurance program 14-19 Reference 1.72 1.61e1.83
use military and civilian network clinics
20-24 1.56 1.48e1.64 1.96 1.87e2.05
over time; accordingly, we included data
from both sources to obtain a more 25-29 1.52 1.44e1.61 1.72 1.64e1.80
complete understanding of LARC use 30-34 1.35 1.25e1.45 1.33 1.27e1.40
among women who were enrolled in the 35-40 1.15 1.02e1.29 Reference
military healthcare system. This strategy a
Hazard ratio; Cox proportional hazard model.
maximized data capture among service Chiles et al. Long-term continuation of LARC. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016.
members who frequently relocate.

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11. Kavanaugh ML, Jerman J, Finer LB.


TABLE 4 Changes in use of long-acting reversible
Multivariable analysis of early contraceptive method contraceptive methods among US women,
discontinuation over 36 and 60 months 2009-2012. Obstet Gynecol 2015;126:917-27.
12. Peipert JF, Madden T, Allsworth JE,
Long-acting reversible Intrauterine contraception Secura GM. Preventing unintended pregnancies
contraception discontinuation, discontinuation, 60 by providing no-cost contraception. Obstet
Variable 36 months (n 140,461)a months (n 108,928)a Gynecol 2012;120:1291-7.
13. Secura GM, Madden T, McNicholas C, et al.
Age group, y
Provision of no-cost, long-acting contraception
14-19 1.34 (1.27e1.42) 1.72 (1.61e1.84) and teenage pregnancy. N Engl J Med 2014;
371:1316-23.
20-24 1.84 (1.76e1.92) 1.96 (1.87e2.05)
14. Diedrich JT, Madden T, Zhao Q, Peipert JF.
25-29 1.66 (1.59e1.73) 1.72 (1.64e1.80) Long-term utilization and continuation of intra-
uterine devices. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2015;
30-34 1.32 (1.25e1.38) 1.34 (1.27e1.41)
213:822.e1-6.
35-40 Reference Reference 15. Berenson AB, Tan A, Hirth JM. Complica-
tions and continuation rates associated with 2
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Grossman D. Unintended pregnancy and 34. Yoshihara H, Yoneoka D. Understanding Corresponding author: David A. Klein, MD, MPH.
contraceptive use among women in the U.S. the statistics and limitations of large database david.a.klein26.mil@mail.mil

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