IUDs -- intrauterine contraceptives – also help lower risks of contracting cervical cancer, reveals a study published in The Lancet Oncology,
The data collected from 20,000 women around the world shows IUD users decrease their chance of developing cervical cancer by half. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV infections, which spread through sexual contact.
The IUD, a T-shaped device that is placed in the uterus, helps a woman’s immune system, according to German researcher Karl Ulrich Petry – as reported by USA Today. Yet, researchers don’t know exactly why the IUD helps protects women against cancer.
After many American women died from IUD-related infections in the 1970s, the IUD became unpopular in the U.S. According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 5.5 percent of American women use IUDs, though the device remains popular among Europeans.
Experts say that modern models are much safer. Hormonal and copper IUDs are the two types of IUDs approved in the U.S. The former is approved for five years of use while the latter is good for 10 years.