Estradiol Valerate in COC Has More Favorable Inflammatory Profile Than Synthetic Ethinyl Estradiol: A Randomized Trial

Marika Kangasniemi, Annina Haverinen, Kaisu Luiro, J. Kalervo Hiltunen, Elina K. Komsi, R Arffman, Oskari Heikinheimo, Juha S. Tapanainen, Terhi Piltonen
In: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2020 · vol. 105(7) , pp. e2483–e2490 · doi:10.1210/clinem/dgaa186 · PMID:32303765 · W3016297837
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 2 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Combined oral contraceptives containing estradiol valerate demonstrated a more favorable inflammatory profile and lipid metabolism compared to those with ethinyl estradiol in a randomized trial.

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

Abstract

CONTEXT: Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) alter inflammatory status and lipid metabolism. Whether different estrogens have different effects is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of COCs containing ethinyl estradiol (EE) or estradiol valerate (EV) and dienogest (DNG) with those containing DNG only on inflammation and lipid metabolism. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, open-label clinical trial. SETTING: Two-center study in Helsinki and Oulu University Hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-nine healthy, young, nonsmoking women with regular menstrual cycles. Age, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio were comparable in all study groups at the beginning. Fifty-six women completed the study (EV + DNG, n = 20; EE + DNG, n = 19; DNG only, n = 17). INTERVENTIONS: Nine-week continuous use of COCs containing either EV + DNG or EE + DNG, or DNG only as control. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parameters of chronic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP], and pentraxin 3 [PTX-3]) and lipid profile (high-density lipoprotein [HDL], low-density lipoprotein [LDL], triglycerides, and total cholesterol). RESULTS: Serum hs-CRP increased after 9-week use of EE + DNG (mean change ± standard deviation 1.10 ± 2.11 mg/L) compared with EV + DNG (-0.06 ± 0.97 mg/L, P = 0.001) or DNG only (0.13 ± 0.68 mg/L, P = 0.021). Also, PTX-3 increased in the EE + DNG group compared with EV + DNG and DNG-only groups (P = 0.017 and P = 0.003, respectively). In the EE + DNG group, HDL and triglycerides increased compared with other groups (HDL: EE + DNG 0.20 ± 0.24 mmol/L vs EV + DNG 0.02 ± 0.20 mmol/L [P = 0.002] vs DNG 0.02 ± 0.18 mmol/L [P = 0.002]; triglycerides: EE + DNG 0.45 ± 0.21 mmol/L vs EV + DNG 0.18 ± 0.36 mmol/L [P = 0.003] vs DNG 0.06 ± 0.18 mmol/L [P < 0.001]). CONCLUSIONS: EV + DNG and DNG only had a neutral effect on inflammation and lipids, while EE + DNG increased both hs-CRP and PTX-3 levels as well as triglycerides and HDL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02352090.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood (sparse)

Too few in-corpus citations on either side for a chart; here are the lists.

Cites (2)

Cited by (2)

References (20)

Cited by (2)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-05-13T19:29:15.267004+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK