Thyroid function during the first year of use of the injectable contraceptivedepot medroxyprogesterone acetate

• Published in: The European journal of contraception & reproductive health care Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 102 - 108
• Main Authors: Quintino-Moro, Alessandra, Denise Engelbrecht Zantut-Wittmann, Priscilla de Nazaré Silva dos Santos, Melhado-Kimura, Vaneska, Conceição Aparecida da Silva, Bahamondes, Luis, Fernandes, Arlete
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Carnforth Taylor & Francis Ltd 01-04-2019
• Subjects: Birth control; Body composition; Body mass index; Thyroid gland
• ISSN: 1362-5187; 1473-0782
• DOI: 10.1080/13625187.2018.1559284

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate thyroid function profile as apossible factor influencing weight and body composition variation in new users of depotmedroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA).Materials and methods: A prospective, non-randomised, comparative study wasconducted at the University of Campinas, Brazil. Women aged 18–40 years with abody mass index (BMI) less than 30 kg/m2, normal oral glucosetolerance test, no known diseases, and using no medication, who opted to use DMPA were pairedby age (±1 year) and BMI(±1 kg/m2) with women initiating copper intrauterinedevice (IUD) use. The main outcome measures were thyroid function profile,weight, and body composition, as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We used repeatedmeasures ANOVA to perform comparisons between times and groups.Results: We evaluated 28 DMPA users and 24 IUD users who completed the 12-monthfollow-up. We observed that FT4 levels were higher at 12 months (compared tobaseline) in the DMPA group(p < .0001) and that FT4/FT3 ratio hadincreased in both groups. Additionally, at 12 months, total body mass had increasedaround 2 kg and lean mass increased in the DMPA group compared to the IUD group; therewas also an increase in weight, BMI, total body mass, and fat mass when compared tobaseline.Conclusions: No changes in thyroid function occurred that could explain theweight increase observed in DMPA users.Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01527526.