Bone density in women receiving Norplant implants for contraception

The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term Norplant uses is associated with changes in bone density. The study group consisted of forty one healthy women aged 19-42 years who had used Norplant for 31.1 +/- 11.2 months with a minimum period of 12 months. Fifty current IUD users constituted the control group. The bone density was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) at the non dominant distal and ultradistal forearm. Serum estradiol was measured by microparticle enzyme immunoassay technique. Age, parity, income, weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of both groups were no differences. Our analysis did not find any differences in bone mineral density of distal forearm and ultradistal forearm between Norplant and IUD users (95% CI -0.01, -0.03 and -0.02, 0.02 respectively). Serum estradiol was not different in the two groups (95% CI -24.9, 110). This study revealed that the Norplant implants do not have any adverse effect on bone mineral density.