Acceptability of an injectable male contraceptive regimen of norethisterone enanthate and testosterone undecanoate for men.

BACKGROUND

We assessed attitudes towards and acceptability of male hormonal contraception among volunteers participating in a clinical trial of a prototype regimen, consisting of progestin and testosterone injections.

METHODS

After completing screening, eligible men were randomly assigned to the no-treatment group (n = 40) or to receive injections of norethisterone enanthate and testosterone undecanoate or placebo at different intervals (n = 50) according to a blocked randomization list. They underwent self-administered questionnaires.

RESULTS

The average age of the participants was approximately 28 years; most were involved in a stable relationship and had no children. Ninety-two percentage of the respondents thought that men and women should share responsibility for contraception and 75% said they would try a hormonal contraceptive if available. At the end of the treatment phase, 66% of the participants said that they would use such a method, and most rated its acceptability very highly; none reported it to be unacceptable. The injections themselves were indicated as the biggest disadvantage. No significant changes in sexual function or mood states were detected among the men who underwent hormone injections.

CONCLUSIONS

The contraceptive tested in this study was well accepted by the participants over the course of 1 year.