Abstract
Background Combined oral contraceptive (COC) use has been associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance (IR) and other adverse cardiovascular events, despite efforts to reduce the dosage and/or progestin type. COC containing drospirenone (DRSP) is an analog of spironolactone, hence its antimineralocorticoid and antiandrogenic characteristics have been deemed beneficial, although the benefits and/or negative outcome of its usage have not been fully elucidated. We therefore hypothesized that COC with DRSP component will not affect glucose regulation and circulating corticosterone. Method Ten-week-old female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control (CON), ethinylestradiol/drospirenone COC (EE/DRSP)-treated, and ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel COC (EE/LN)-treated rats. The treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Results Results showed that with the exception of lipid profiles, EE/LN but not EE/DRSP COC treatment affected body weight, glucose tolerance, plasma insulin, corticosterone, (IR), and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. Conclusion Taken together, the findings showed that the beneficial effect of EE/DRSP could possibly be through the DRSP component. The result also implies that COCs containing DRSP may be a better and safer means of contraception than those with LN with less cardiovascular risks.
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