Postmenopausal estrogen and androgen replacement and lipoprotein lipid concentrations

The effect of a combined estrogen-androgen drug on the lipoprotein lipid profile of women who received it parenterally as long-term postmenopausal replacement therapy was compared to that of women who had been receiving estrogen alone parenterally and to untreated surgically menopausal women. Plasma estradiol, testosterone, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins were measured at baseline (55 days after injection) and then on days 2, 4, 8, 15, 21, and 28 after injection. The plasma estradiol levels were greater in the two hormone-treated groups compared with the control group (p less than 0.01), and plasma testosterone levels of the combined group exceeded those of the other two groups (p less than 0.01) and remained above the normal female range for the duration of the study. There were no between-group differences in total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, or low-density lipoprotein values. Neither was the low-density/high-density lipoprotein ratio significantly different between groups at any of the test times. Therefore, the addition of testosterone to a long-term parenteral estrogen replacement regimen did not induce an increased atherogenic lipid profile compared with that produced by the parenteral administration of estrogen alone.