Comparison of lipid and androgen levels after conjugated estrogen or depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment in postmenopausal women.

Thirty-five women who had undergone a natural or surgical menopause were randomized to receive either 0.625 mg of conjugated estrogen to be ingested for 25 days each month or 150 mg of depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate intramuscularly every three months. Plasma lipids were determined before and after one year of therapy. Serum androgens were measured before and after six months of therapy. Conjugated estrogens and depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate had similar effects on plasma lipids. Cholesterol was decreased (P less than .02 for conjugated estrogen therapy and P less than .01 for depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate therapy), as was low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P less than .02 for conjugated estrogen and P less than .05 for depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate). Conjugated estrogens also significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P less than .02). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were unchanged after depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate therapy. Serum androgens were generally unchanged after depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate or conjugated estrogen therapy. The data from this study suggest that long-term conjugated estrogen and depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment have similar effects on lipid and androgen levels except that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was not significantly increased by depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate.