An open, prospective, comparative study was done in healthy women, aged between 18 and 40 years, to study the effects of long-term etonogestrel treatment on bone mineral density (BMD). The control group used a non-hormone-medicated intrauterine device (IUD). The BMD was measured using a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry instrument. Measurements included the lumbar spine (L(2)-L(4)), the proximal femur (femoral neck, Ward's triangle, trochanter) and distal radius. The period of treatment was 2 years and 44 women in the Implanon group and 29 in the IUD group provided data. Groups were comparable at baseline with respect to age, weight, body mass index, BMD and 17beta-oestradiol status. Changes from baseline in BMD in the Implanon group were not essentially different from those in the IUD group. There was no relationship between 17beta-oestradiol concentrations and changes in BMD in this study population. The results of the present study indicate that Implanon((R)) can safely be used in young women who have not yet achieved their peak bone mass.

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The diffusing capacity, when normalized per liter of alveolar volume (DL,CO/VA) decreases in normal adults, whereas their total diffusing capacity (DL,CO) increases as alveolar volume (VA) increases. We studied these relationships in a group of normal children below 20 years of age. Diffusion variables were determined using the single breath technique. The effects of sex, age, and height on these relationships were estimated. DL,CO increased and DL,CO/VA decreased as alveolar volume increased. DL,CO and DL,CO/VA reference values at total lung capacity (TLC) appeared to be comparable to reference values at TLC in the literature. Reference values of DL,CO and DL,CO/VA derived from measurements at various alveolar volumes also predict similar values at TLC. The advantage of our reference equations is their applicability to patients with restrictive lung disease. Actual DL,CO/VA can be compared with reference DL,CO/VA at actual (restrictive) TLC instead of reference DL,CO/VA at reference TLC. This comparison extends the evaluation of a diffusion disorder. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1996; 21:84–89. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.