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The effect of previous oral contraceptive use on bone mineral density in perimenopausal women

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Abstract

The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebrae L2–4 and femoral neck was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 3222 perimenopausal women — a random stratified sample of the population-based Kuopio Osteoporosis Study (OSTPRE). The mean age of the women was 53.4 years (range 47.9–59.6 years). Twenty-nine percent of the women were past users of oral contraceptives (OC) containing 50 µg or less of ethinyl estradiol and 7.4% (n=250) of the women reported OC use for more than 6 years. There was a slight but statistically significant difference between OC users (n=939) and non-users (n=2283) in lumbar BMD (1.134±0.155 g/cm2 v 1.123±0.161 g/cm2,p=0.014). A statistically significant difference was recorded also after adjustment for years since menopause, duration of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) and present weight (p=0.044). When the analysis was performed among women who had never used oestrogen replacement therapy (n=1427) and among premenopausal women (n=387), no differences in BMD were found between OC users and non-users. Similarly, femoral neck BMD did not differ between the groups. This population-based study demonstrated a slightly higher lumbar BMD among past OC users. However, OC users and non-users differed from each other in many behavioral characteristics. Thus, the differences in BMD may be accounted for more by other factors than by past OC use itself. The low-dosage estrogen OCs used today would not be expected to have any positive bone effects among future perimenopausal women.

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Tuppurainen, M., Kröger, H., Saarikoski, S. et al. The effect of previous oral contraceptive use on bone mineral density in perimenopausal women. Osteoporosis Int 4, 93–98 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01623231

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01623231

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