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Changes in body composition in women treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists
R Revilla1, M Revilla, L F Villa
1Department of Medicine, Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital, Alcalá de Henares University, Madrid, Spain.
Objective:
The changes that agonists of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) produce in mineral bone mass are known, but, as far as we know, those produced by these agents in other body compartments are unknown.
Methods:
We studied these changes using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 50 eugonadal women treated with decapeptyl (Triptoreline), 3.75 mg injected intramuscularly, at 28-day intervals for 6 months.
Results:
There were significant increases in fat content (9.5%, P < 0.0005) and weight (1.3%, P < 0.01), and significant decreases in fat-free mass (-1.9%, P < 0.0001) and water content (-1.8%, P < 0.0002). Bone mass was lost in the axial skeleton (-3.6%, P < 0.0001) but not in the peripheral skeleton.
Conclusions:
The changes induced in body composition by the GnRH agonists are similar to those of natural menopause.