I would expect the study to compare it to other women not using OCs. Does this methodology make some sense that I'm missing?
> Methods: We recruited healthy adults aged 23-35 who identified as women currently using (n = 62) or having used (n = 37) solely combined OCs, women who never used any hormonal contraceptives (n = 40), or men (n = 41).
> Results: Compared to men, all three groups of women exhibited a larger GMV of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, while only current users showed a thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Irrespective of the menstrual cycle phase, never users exhibited a thicker right anterior insular cortex than past users.
(Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1228...)
I agree with you it’s somewhat confusing why they use men as their benchmark. But really this isn’t my field of expertise.
What a weird thing to say if you study the effect of the pill on women.
> who identified as women currently using
It's who identified themselves as using or not using contraceptives, not just identifying as women.
Thank god it's not.