Objective: To compare the bone mineral density of users of combined oral contraceptives (OC) or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (depot-MPA) with women who have never used a hormonal contraceptive method.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Academic tertiary-care hospital.
Patient(s): A total of 189 women, aged 30 to 34 years old, were allocated to three groups: 63 who had used OC for at least 2 years; 63 who had used depot-MPA for at least 2 years; and 63 control women who had never used hormonal contraceptives.
Intervention(s): Each woman's bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated at the distal and ultradistal section of the radius of the nondominant forearm by the use of single x-ray absorptiometry.
Main outcome measure(s): We obtained BMD measurements for each participant.
Result(s): Independent of the period of use and the section of the forearm studied, we found no difference in BMD for OC or depot-MPA users when compared to women who had never used hormonal contraceptive methods. In addition, BMD was similar between OC users and depot-MPA users. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the variables associated with BMD were weight, number of pregnancies, and the woman's occupation.
Conclusion(s): Women aged 30 to 34 years who have used OC or depot-MPA have similar BMD as control women. These findings suggest that the use of OC or depot-MPA does not affect the BMD of women in this age group.