Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: To assess the effects of hormone replacement therapy on bone mineral density (BMD), biochemical markers of bone turnover, and lipid profiles in postmenopausal women.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 199 postmenopausal women who had received care at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital between January 1994 and December 2008. The patients were divided into the following three groups: group 1 received combined estrogen and progesterone therapy (n=91); group 2 received estrogen only (n=65); and group 3 received tibolone (n=43). We compared the changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover, lipid profiles, and BMD during therapy.

Results: The BMD of the lumbar spine increased in groups 1 and 3 by 2.0 and 1.2%, respectively, and the BMD of the total femur increased in groups 1 and 2 by 2.3 and 0.5% from the initial values after 3 years, respectively. However, the BMD of the femoral neck and total femur decreased significantly in group 3 by 4.8 and 1.9%, respectively, 3 years after treatment initiation (P<0.05). Serum osteocalcin and urinary deoxypyridinoline decreased in all groups 1 year after treatment. In groups 1 and 3, the total cholesterol level decreased and the triglycerides level increased. However, there were no definite changes in the total cholesterol and triglycerides levels in group 2. The HDL-cholesterol level increased in groups 1 and 2, but decreased in group 3. As a result, the BMD of the lumbar spine increased and the total cholesterol level decreased in the combined therapy and tibolone groups. Tibolone had no beneficial effect on the BMD of the femoral neck.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that each therapy has different effects on BMD, biochemical markers of bone metabolism, and lipid profiles. A prospective study involving a larger group, and considering multiple factors, will be required to obtain more clinically meaningful conclusions.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.