UC San Diego

Although adolescent women are actively acquiring bone, there has been little study of the possible effects of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injectable contraception use on bone density in adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional evaluation of the association between DMPA use and bone mineral density in adolescent women, ages 14-18 years. Of 174 study participants, 81 were DMPA users (range, 1-13 injections, median = 3) and 93 were not. Mean bone density at all anatomic sites (hip, spine and whole body) was lower for DMPA users than nonusers, but differences were not statistically significant (e.g., hip, 0.940 vs. 0.970 g/cm2, p = 0.10; spine, 0.970 vs. 0.992 g/cm2, p = 0.19). Duration of DMPA use showed a trend toward lower spine bone density (p-value for trend = 0.06). This study did not find a strong association between DMPA use and bone density. Further prospective evaluation of bone density changes with DMPA use and after DMPA discontinuation are needed in this age group.