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  • Title: Bone density among long-term users of medroxyprogesterone acetate as a contraceptive.
    Author: Paiva LC, Pinto-Neto AM, Faundes A.
    Journal: Contraception; 1998 Dec; 58(6):351-5. PubMed ID: 10095971.
    Abstract:
    The bone density (BD) of 72 women using depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) for at least 1 year was compared with that of 64 women who were not users of hormonal contraceptives. The BD of lumbar spine, femoral neck, Ward's triangle, and trochanter was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA-LUNAR DPX). Estradiol (E2) concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The mean age of DMPA users and nonusers was 31.8 and 31.1 years, respectively. Mean E, was 55.7 pg/mL for users and 149.9 pg/mL for controls (p < 0.001). The BD was significantly lower for DMPA users than for controls in all sites (p < 0.01). In addition, young adult T-scores in the lumbar spine were significantly lower among DMPA users than in controls (p < 0.01). Differences were maintained in a subsample of 47 women per group paired by age and body mass index (BMI). Multiple regression analysis showed that older age, lower BMI, and longer amenorrhea were associated with lower BD in the femoral neck, whereas lower BMI and use of DMPA were associated with lower BD in the lumbar spine. Family planning programs that offer depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) cannot be indifferent to the risk of lowered bone density. A study conducted at the Family Planning Clinic of the State University of Campinas (Sao Paulo, Brazil) compared bone densities in 72 women who had been using DMPA for at least 1 year (mean duration, 42 months) and 64 regularly menstruating nonusers. Mean age was 31 years in both groups; there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in terms of ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), or smoking. Mean serum estradiol concentrations were 55.7 +or- 40.5 pg/ml for DMPA users and 149.9 +or- 88.2 pg/ml for nonusers (p 0.001). The mean length of amenorrhea was 26.5 +or- 23.8 months among DMPA users. The mean bone density in DMPA users was significantly lower than that of controls at all sites evaluated (i.e., lumbar spine, femoral neck, Ward's triangle, and trochanter). 38 DMPA users, compared with only 17 controls, had a T-score in the lumbar spine lower than -1 standard deviation (p = 0.014). Multiple regression analysis identified BMI and DMPA use as variables significantly associated with bone density in the lumbar spine; in the femoral neck, these variables were BMI, age, and length of amenorrhea. Periodic bone densitometry should be considered for women over 40 years of age with low BMI who have more than 2 years of continuous amenorrhea.
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