Warning About Skeletal Health and DMPA: Are We Overreacting?

Survey results suggested clinicians have become increasingly restrictive in prescribing DMPA in the wake of a regulatory advisory.

Several million U.S. women, including many teens, use depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, Depo-Provera) contraception. Use of this method of birth control is associated with concurrent declines in BMD. In 2004, the British drug regulatory authority issued an advisory stating that adolescents should use DMPA only after other contraceptive methods have been deemed unsuitable. The advisory also recommended reevaluation of DMPA in all reproductive-age women after 2 years of use. In the U.K., general practitioners (GPs) provide most family planning services. To determine whether the advisory changed practice habits, British investigators conducted a survey in 2005 of GPs, practice nurses, and nurse practitioners.

Of 420 questionnaires mailed…

Reviewing Author

Andrew M. Kaunitz, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportMerck, Mithra, Medicines360

Editorial BoardsContraception; Menopause; Contraceptive Technology Update; OBG Management; Medscape OB/GYN & Women’s Health

Andrew M. Kaunitz, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportMerck, Mithra, Medicines360

Editorial BoardsContraception; Menopause; Contraceptive Technology Update; OBG Management; Medscape OB/GYN & Women’s Health