The effect of monophasic and triphasic oral contraceptives containing gestodene and desogestrel on body weight and composition

Abstract

This study compared the effects on body weight and body composition of contraceptive preparations containing monophasic gestodene, triphasic gestodene and monophasic desogestrel. The randomized study was open-label and consisted of three parallel groups of 150 women over 13 cycles. This interim analysis involved a total of 227 women aged 18-34 years over six cycles. The study parameters determined were body weight, waist-to-hip girth ratio, skinfold thickness measurements and bioelec-trical impedance determinations. Body weight was constant throughout the study in all treatment groups and mean changes from baseline were statistically insignificant between treatment groups. Apart from a small but significant decrease of 0.012 (95% CI 0.001-0.024) in waist-to-hip girth ratio in the monophasic gestodene group and a slight increase of 2.0 mm (95% CI 0.9-3.2) in right triceps skinfold thickness in the triphasic gestodene group, only minor changes from baseline were recorded. From these interim data, there was no evidence that the use of any of the low-dose preparations was associated with significant clinical changes in body composition parameters.

Key Words:

• Oral Contraception
• Body Weight
• Body Composition
• Gestodene
• Desogestrel