Skip to main content

Table 2 Hormonal status of each subgroup of females

From: Oral contraceptives modify DNA methylation and monocyte-derived macrophage function

Hormone

Fs

FOCs

P value

FOCA+

FOCA-

P value

Cortisol (ng/ml)

202.5 (75.5 to 373.1), n = 44

334.2 (177.0 to 584.9), n = 32

< 0.001

318.0 ± 76.6, n = 16

349.4 ± 98.2, n = 16

NS

Estradiol (pg/ml)

27.7 (6.6 to 172.0), n = 42

19.7 (5.5 to 77.0)a, n = 9

NS

35.1 ± 30.9, n = 4

25.9 ± 20.7, n = 5

NS

Testosterone (ng/dl)

49.9 ± 19.2, n = 33

33.9 ± 14.9, n = 27

< 0.001

31.4 ± 7.3, n = 13

36.2 ± 19.3, n = 14

NS

Luteinizing hormone (mIU/ml)

6.7 (2.6 to 16.5), n = 44

3.7 (0.2 to 10.4), n = 32

< 0.001

2.2 (0.2 to 10.4), n = 16

4.4 (0.2 to 9.6), n = 16

NS

Follicle-stimulating hormone (mIU/ml)

6.8 (2.8 to 10.7), n = 44

5.6 (1.2 to 20.2), n = 32

0.001

4.9 (1.5 to 8.5), n = 16

4.3 (1.2 to 20.2), n = 16

NS

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (μIU/ml)

1.7 (0.7 to 4.7), n = 79

1.9 (0.7 to 10.9), n = 76

NS

1.4 (0.7 to 10.9), n = 32

2.0 (0.8 to 6.3), n = 44

0.030

  1. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD or as medians and ranges; n indicates the number of subjects used to calculate the statistics, and these may vary due to the unavailability of enough serum to complete the analyses.
  2. aIn many samples of oral contraceptive users, estradiol was below the detection limit (5 pg/ml), so they were excluded.
  3. FOCA+/FOCA- = FOCs further stratified as a function of androgenic (FOCA+) and non-androgenic (FOCA-) properties of progestins; FOCs = women treated with OCs for at least 3 months; Fs = women who had not used OCs for at least 3 months to ensure a sufficient washout period; NS = not significant; OC = oral contraceptive.