Effects of tibolone on body composition in postmenopausal women: a 1-year follow up study.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the effects of 1-year tibolone treatment on body weight, body composition and indices of android obesity in postmenopausal women.


METHODS
Forty-four postmenopausal women participated in this open-label controlled study; mean age was 51.8+/-2.21 years and all women were menopausal for 3.8+/-1.40 years. Twenty-two of them started taking 2.5 mg tibolone (TIB) daily for 1 year, whereas the remaining 22 served as age-matched controls. All subjects underwent a structured interview, physical examination, body composition measurements performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) - Hologic QDR 4500 A, as well as bioelectrical body impedance analysis (BI) - Tanita TBF-215, Japan.


RESULTS
The TIB group did not significantly increase their weight (+0.4 kg), while the non-treated controls increased their mean weight by 1.4 kg (p=0.046). In the TIB group, DXA showed a non-significant body fat decrease by a mean of 0.5 kg and a non-significant lean mass increase by 0.8 kg, while in the control group, fat mass increased by 1.7 kg (p=0.032) and lean mass did not change. BI revealed that the TIB group had lost some fat ( approximately 0.6 kg, n.s.) and put some free-fat mass ( approximately 1.0 kg, p=0.048) without changes in total body water. The control group put on some fat ( approximately 1.1 kg, p=0.042) and lost some body water ( approximately 0.4 kg, n.s.).


CONCLUSIONS
Results from both methods of measuring body composition show a similar trend: a decrease in fat mass and an increase in lean mass in TIB treated subjects. From the body composition perspective, tibolone may be regarded as a preferential alternative to conventional hormonal therapy (HT) in postmenopausal women.
Boyanov
Mihail A
MA
Endocrinology Clinic, Alexandrovska Hospital, Medical University of Sofia, 1 G. Sofiiski str., 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria. boyanov@sun.medun.acad.bg
Shinkov
Alexander D
AD
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001834:Body Water; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017097:Electric Impedance; D020847:Estrogen Receptor Modulators / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009652:Norpregnenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects*
D020847:Estrogen Receptor Modulators; D009652:Norpregnenes; C027385:tibolone