An effect of hormone replacement therapy on skin thickness in early postmenopausal women.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: It is well known that dermal thickness, the major component of skin thickness, will decrease progressively after menopause. Bone and dermis share a similar organic constituent (collagen type I). The effect of hormone replacement therapy on bone has been established, whereas, its effects on skin are less well-described. This study was performed to determine the effect of combined estrogen-progestin replacement therapy in a sequential regimen on skin thickness in women during the early postmenopausal period. METHOD: One hundred early postmenopausal women who met the eligibility criteria and had already signed a consent form were non-randomly allocated in two groups. Group A; sixty women who received cyclic hormone replacement therapy in each 28-day cycle for 6 cycles. Group B; forty women who received 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate daily. Skin thickness was measured by ultrasonography before and after treatment and the Student's t-test was used to compare the results. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in skin thickness over baseline was noted after combined estrogen-progestin replacement therapy had been administered for 24 weeks compared to the control and baseline groups. The skin thickness was also significantly decreased after calcium had been administered for 24 weeks when compared to baseline. CONCLUSION: Skin thickness was increased in early postmenopausal women subjected to hormone replacement therapy with an alternating dose of estrogen and progestin.