Past oral contraceptive and hormone therapy use and endogenous hormone concentrations in postmenopausal women.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study
PubMed 17667152 · doi:10.1097/gme.0b013e31806458d9
What was done
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,983 postmenopausal women aged 55 to 81 years from the general community who were not currently using exogenous hormones. The study evaluated self-reported past use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and hormone therapy (HT) against circulating endogenous sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations, adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and reproductive factors.
What was found
Past OC use was significantly associated with lower endogenous estradiol, estrone, androstenedione, testosterone, and SHBG concentrations compared with never use. Past HT use was significantly associated with lower testosterone and 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations. Both past OC and HT use were independently associated with lower circulating testosterone: -9% (95% CI: -16% to -2%) for past OC use and -7% (95% CI: -17% to -2%) for past HT use relative to never users. Overall, differences in endogenous hormone concentrations ranged from 5% to 10%.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that exogenous hormone exposure earlier in life may have persistent, long-term associations with postmenopausal endogenous sex hormone profiles decades after discontinuation.
Limits
The study used a cross-sectional design relying on retrospective recall of past medication use, precluding causal inference. The abstract does not provide exact hormone concentrations, duration or formulation details of past hormone use, time elapsed since cessation, or data on clinical disease endpoints.
Cited by
- contradicts Oral contraceptive use increases sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels in women long-term.