RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of long-term use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) on bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with 150 women using DMPA and 136 women using nonhormonal methods of contraception in rural Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt. Socioeconomic scores were measured using the 1983 Fahmy and El Sherbeny system, model II. The mineral density of the left calcaneus was measured by ultrasonographically. RESULTS: If the overall mean T score was significantly lower for the DMPA than for the control group, osteopenia and osteoporosis were more prevalent among DMPA users only for participants of the lowest socioeconomic level. There was a mild negative correlation between duration of DMPA use and T score, and when contraception duration was considered the differences in T scores between the DMPA and control groups were significant. CONCLUSION: Prescribing DMPA only for the short term to women of a low socioeconomic level and counseling them about its effect on bone density may be a practical approach.