Serum lipid profile in women using levonorgestrel contraceptive implant, Norplant-2
Dash, D.S.; Das, S.; Nanda, U.; Tripathy, B.B.; Samal, K.C.
Contraception 37(4): 371-382
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0010-7824 PMID: 3133159 DOI: 10.1016/0010-7824(88)90114-xDocument Number: 356281
Total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) were measured in 35 Indian women using the levonorgestrel-containing implant, Norplant, and in 25 controls. 65 blood samples were taken from the 35 Norplant users at 3,6, 12 and 24 months after placing the implants. Assays were done by quantitative fractionation methods. Serum HDL fell significantly at 3 months (p0.02), and further over 6-24 months of use (p0.001), from 40.0 to 31.8 mg/dl. The control value was 49.2. LDL and VLDL fell to a minimum at 6 months, and rose somewhat at 12 and 24 months. Total cholesterol also was depressed to a mean of 128.8 at 6 months, then rose to 148 mg/dl at 24 months. Control total cholesterol was 190.1. Triglyceride levels followed a similar pattern. The ratios of HDL/total cholesterol and VLDL/total cholesterol in this series suggest increased risk of coronary heart disease. In contrast, the fall in total cholesterol to values below 100 mg/dl in some subjects is cause for concern. These data add to the widely discrepant findings of serum lipoproteins in different studies on Norplant users.