Quarterly injectable hormonal contraceptive does not increase the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in women without cardiovascular risk factors.

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the quarterly injectable contraceptive increases the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study that included eutrophic, irregularly active women, aged between 18 and 30 years, who had been taking quarterly injectable contraceptive (150mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate) for at least 6 months or who had not used any type of hormonal contraceptive for at least 6 months. At first the volunteers underwent a physical examination and answered a standard questionnaire. They were then sent for blood collection of laboratory variables: plasma renin activity and concentration, angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 (ACE 1), and aldosterone. The data was analyzed using the two-tailed Student's t-test, with significance <0.05.

Results: Sixty-two women were included in this study, divided into the Injectable Contraceptive Group (ICG) with n=23 and the No Contraceptive Group (NCG) with n=39. ICG had lower mean plasma renin activity values than NCG, respectively 0.4 ± 0.17 vs 1 ± 0.6 (p <0.01). The mean values for plasma renin concentration, ACE 1, and aldosterone did not differ between the groups (respectively, p= 0.21; 0.66; 0.09).

Conclusion: Women using quarterly injectable contraceptives do not show greater activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system than their counterparts who do not use this drug.