title: Differential effects of oral estrogen versus oral estrogen-androgen replacement therapy on body composition in postmenopausal women.
abstract: Menopause is associated with decreased lean body mass and increased fat due to aging and declining hormone secretion. Estrogens or estrogen-progestins have been used to alleviate vasomotor symptoms. However, estrogen-androgen (E/A) therapy is also used for vasomotor symptom relief and has been shown to increase lean body mass while decreasing fat mass. The objective of this 16-wk, double-blind, randomized, parallel group clinical trial was to compare esterified estrogen plus methyltestosterone (1.25 mg estrogen + 2.5 mg methyltestosterone/d; E/A group) vs. esterified estrogen alone (1.25 mg/d; E group) on body composition. Forty postmenopausal women (mean age, 57 yr) participated. Compared with estrogen treatment alone, women in the E/A group increased their total lean body mass and reduced their percentage fat for all body parts (P < 0.05). After E/A treatment, there were statistically significant increases in lean body mass by 1.232 kg [0.181 +/- 0.004, 0.81 +/- 0.057, and 0.24 +/- 0.009 kg in the upper body (P = 0.021), trunk (P = 0.001), and lower body (P = 0.047), respectively]. In the E group, the increase was 0.31 +/- 0.004, 0.021 +/- 0.03, and 0.056 +/- 0.05 kg in the upper body, trunk, and lower body, respectively. In the E/A group, body fat was reduced by 0.90 kg (P = 0.18 for the trunk only), and percentage body fat declined by 7.4% (P < or = 0.05 for all body parts). Lower body strength increased by 23.1 kg (51 lb) in the E/A group vs. only 11 kg (24.25 lb) in the E group (P = 0.002 between groups). A statistically significant increase in weight (2.7 +/- 5.1 vs. 0.1 +/- 4.6 lb; P < 0.05) was observed in the E/A group compared with the E group. When subjects were given self-reporting questionnaires, more improvement was noted in sexual functioning and quality of life in the E/A group when compared with patients receiving E alone. There were no noteworthy side effects. In conclusion, E/A replacement therapy can improve body composition, lower-body muscle strength, quality of life, and sexual functioning in postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. adobs@jhu.edu
authors.forename: Adrian S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dobs
authors.forename: Tam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pace
authors.forename: Carla P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D004967:Estrogens / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008777:Methyltestosterone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012723:Sex; D045165:Testosterone Congeners / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014891:Weight Lifting
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D006728:Hormones; D008055:Lipids; D045165:Testosterone Congeners; D008777:Methyltestosterone