Estrogen–progestin contraceptive use during adolescence prevents bone mass acquisition: a 4-year follow-up study

Relative importance of body composition, osteoporosis-related behaviors, and parental income on bone speed of sound in adolescent females

“…This study, however, measured University students who were probably longer time users of OC than our younger participants. Very few studies have looked at the effects of oral contraceptive use on bone health in adolescents, and the results have been contradictory [6,7]. According to a recent review, the effect of OC on bone health in adolescents is dependent on the chemical composition of the contraception pills [27].…”

“…However, there is limited research on the bone-related benefits of total leisure or habitual activity. Calcium intake during childhood and adolescence has also been associated with a lower incidence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women [5], whereas few studies have looked at the effects of oral contraceptive (OC) use on bone properties in adolescents with contradictory results noted [6,7]. There is also equivocal evidence that low annual income is related to lower values of BMD at the lumbar spine and a higher prevalence of densitometric osteoporosis and vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women [8].…”

Update on hormonal contraception and bone density

“…While their findings were not statistically significant, BMD increased less in COC users compared to non-users (4.2% versus 6.3% at the spine; 3.0% versus 3.8% at the femoral neck) [34]. Pikkarainen et al prospectively followed a group of Finnish adolescent women aged 12-19 for 4-years [63]. Adolescent users of COCs (pill formulation ≤35 mcg EE) for more than 2 years had a significantly smaller increase in adjusted bone mineral content of the lumbar spine compared to non-users and users of COCs for 1-2 years of use (p for linearity=0.0046).…”

“…To date, the body of evidence suggests that adolescents currently using COCs have lower BMD than non-users [34,[58][59][60][61][62][63][64]. In a systematic review published in 2006, Martins et al identified four "poor" to "good" quality articles that examined the relationship between COC use and BMD in adolescents [7].…”

“…Adolescent users of COCs (pill formulation ≤35 mcg EE) for more than 2 years had a significantly smaller increase in adjusted bone mineral content of the lumbar spine compared to non-users and users of COCs for 1-2 years of use (p for linearity=0.0046). At the femoral neck, increase in adjusted bone mineral content was significantly lower in the COCs users of more than 2 years compared with COC users of 1-2 years (p for linearity=0.038) [63]. Berenson et al enrolled women aged 16-33 and followed them every 6 months for up to 3 years [35].…”