Abstract
Purpose
This nonrandomized study aimed to evaluate body weight and composition during the
menstrual cycle and during oral contraception with 30 ��g of ethinylestradiol plus
3 mg of drospirenone (EE+DRSP).
Design
Multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis was carried out in 38 normally cycling
women (mean age, 25.5 years) at baseline during the follicular phase (FP) and the
luteal phase (LP) of the menstrual cycle and after three and six cycles of EE+DRSP
to evaluate total body water (TBW), intracellular water (ICW), extracellular water
(ECW), fat mass and fat-free mass. Body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure
and the plasma concentrations of electrolytes were also determined at each visit.
Results
TBW and ECW increased in the LP. During EE+DRSP, TBW and ECW were significantly lower
than in the LP but similar to the values measured in the FP. No significant variations
in ICW or in the other parameters were observed.
Conclusion
EE+DRSP maintains the same concentrations in TBW and ECW observed in the FP. This
effect is likely due to the antimineralocorticoid activity of DRSP, which counteracts
the water retention elicited by estrogen.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 17, 2007
Accepted:
October 30,
2006
Received in revised form:
October 23,
2006
Received:
September 8,
2006
Footnotes
���The authors thank Dr. Donatella Crippa, Director of Medical and Regulatory Department, Schering SpA, Italy, and Dr. Gian Roberto Orlandi, Head of the Gynecology and Andrology Unit, Schering SpA, Italy, for financial support.
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
