C. Castelobranco et al., MENSTRUAL HISTORY AS A DETERMINANT OF CURRENT BONE-DENSITY IN YOUNG HIRSUTE WOMEN, Metabolism, clinical and experimental, 45(4), 1996, pp. 515-518
There is evidence that bone mass is influenced by estrogen, declining
in situations characterized by a decrease in the production of this ho
rmone. Usually, amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea are associated with a st
ate of hypoestrogenism, and both situations are frequent in hirsute pa
tients. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship b
etween bone mass and menstrual cyclicity in hirsute women. A total of
52 nulliparous women complaining of hirsutism in various degrees with
associated oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea (OA) in 27 cases and eumenorrhea
in 25 were included in this study. Basal serum levels of follicle-stim
ulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol-17 beta (E2
), prolactin (PRL), testosterone (T), androstenedione (A4) dehydroepia
ndrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). 17-hydroxyprogesterone (OHP). and SHBG we
re determined, and the area under the curve (AUG) for E2 was plotted.
Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptio
metry (DEXA). The mean age for eumenorrheic patients was 26 years (ran
ge, 17 to 31), and for OA patients, 24 (range, 16 to 29). Both groups
had similar Ferriman-Gallwey scores. Basal levels of PRL, LH, FSH, E2,
T, A4, OHP, and DHEAS were similar for eumenorrheic and OA patients.
The AUC for E2 was significantly higher for eumenorrheic patients, and
DEXA at the lumbar spine demonstrated a significant difference betwee
n eumenorrheic (1.222 +/- 0.240 g/cm(2)) and OA (1.016 +/- 0.108 g/cm(
2)) hirsute women (P < .01). In conclusion, OA, due to a relative hypo
estrogenism, may be correlated with osteopenia in young hirsute women.
(C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company