Lipid profile in women over 35 years old using triphasic combined oral contraceptives

Twenty-nine women aged 35 years old or more, using triphasic combined oral contraceptive (COC) were evaluated during six cycles for the following parameters: total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and its subfraction HDL2, triglycerides, apoproteins A and B, Castelli risk index I and II (cholesterol/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C) and apoprotein ratio (apoprotein B/apoprotein A). the same laboratory measurements were done in a control group of 49 non-COC-user women. the results showed that there were no differences on most of the studied parameters between user and nonuser women. There was a significant reduction of HDL-C and LHD2-C, although within the normal range. in addition, it was observed a significant increment of triglycerides and apoprotein B at 6 months of follow-up only in user group (p < 0.05), although within the normal range. It is concluded that the use of levonorgestrel triphasic COC appeared to have no additional adverse impact when used by women aged over 35 years. Further studies are needed to obtain conclusive data. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Univ São Paulo, Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Maternal Hlth, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Sch Med, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Med, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, BR-05508 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Dept Gynecol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Dept Gynecol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc