Venous Thromboembolic Risk of Estradiol Valerate–Dienogest Compared with Ethinyl Estradiol–Levonorgestrel Combined Oral Contraceptives

Anja Bauerfeind; Sophia von Stockum; Tanja Boehnke; Klaas Heinemann

doi:10.1097/aog.0000000000005509

Venous Thromboembolic Risk of Estradiol Valerate–Dienogest Compared with Ethinyl Estradiol–Levonorgestrel Combined Oral Contraceptives

Anja Bauerfeind, Sophia von Stockum, Tanja Boehnke, Klaas Heinemann

In: Obstetrics & Gynecology · 2024 · vol. 143(3) , pp. 431–434 · doi:10.1097/aog.0000000000005509 · PMID:38227942 · W4390901544

article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 1 in-corpus citation

🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher

⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-24 ⓘ

This pooled analysis found a significantly decreased risk of venous thromboembolism for estradiol valerate-dienogest compared to ethinyl estradiol-levonorgestrel combined oral contraceptives.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

This pooled analysis compared the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with combined oral contraceptives (COCs) containing estradiol (E2) valerate-dienogest with those containing ethinyl E2-levonorgestrel. Data were retrieved from two large, prospective, observational cohort studies. Propensity score subclassification was applied to balance baseline parameters between the COC user cohorts. Crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated based on the extended Cox model. The pooled data set included 11,616 E2 valerate-dienogest users and 18,681 ethinyl E2-levonorgestrel users, contributing 17,932 and 29,140 women-years of observation, respectively. A significantly decreased VTE risk in E2 valerate-dienogest COCs compared with ethinyl E2-levonorgestrel COCs was observed (propensity score-stratified HR 0.46, 95% CI, 0.22-0.98). This pooled analysis expands data from a previous postauthorization safety study and provides valuable real-world safety information on the relative safety of current COCs.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (10)

Cited by (2)

Source provenance

openalex: last seen: 2026-05-13T18:33:16.088889+00:00
unpaywall: last seen: 2026-06-15T06:18:04.506796+00:00

License: CC0 · commercial use OK

[1] An overview of the development of combined oral contraceptives containing estradiol: focus on estradiol valerate/dienogest via openalex

[2] Combined oral contraceptives containing dienogest and estradiol valerate may carry a lower risk of venous and arterial thromboembolism compared to conventional preparations: Results from the extended INAS-SCORE study via openalex

[3] Efficacy and Safety of a Combined Oral Contraceptive Containing Estradiol Valerate/Dienogest: Results from a Clinical Study Conducted in North America via openalex

[4] Impact of estrogen type on cardiovascular safety of combined oral contraceptives via openalex

[5] Thromboembolic safety profile of low-dose estradiol (valerate) in combined hormonal preparations: Implications for the development of new hormonal endometriosis and uterine fibroid therapies via openalex

[6] W6681091350 via openalex

[7] doi:10.1093/ije/17.4.955 via openalex

[8] doi:10.1080/13625187.2019.1629412 via openalex

[9] doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.027 via openalex

[10] doi:10.1093/biomet/70.1.41 via openalex