The study followed 703 Caucasian, African American and Hispanic women using oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), the birth control shot Depo-Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, or DMPA) or nonhormonal contraceptives. They were divided into age groups—one between 16 and 24, and another between the ages of 25 and 33.

Although women who used nonhormonal contraceptives showed little if any loss, women who took OCPs and DMPA lost 0.4–6.8 percent of bone mineral density. BMD loss appeared to differ most by age.

“DMPA users 16–24 years old lost significantly more bone at the spine (4.2% compared with 3.2%) and femoral neck (6.0% compared with 4.2%) than those 25–33 years old,” authors of the study wrote. “However, OCP users 16–24 years old lost significantly less bone density at the spine (0.4% compared with 0.8%) than women 25–33 years of age.”

Many of the study’s participants chose to discontinue DMPA use. Some switched to nonhormonal contraceptives, and were actually able to regain some bone mineral density—up to 4.9 percent at the spine and 3.2 percent at the neck for nonhormonal contraceptive users. Those who switched to OCPs also regained BMD, but their rates were much lower.

Authors wrote, “Use of very-low-dose OCPs after DMPA discontinuation may slow bone recovery.” Women who switched to OCPs were only able to regain up to 2.3 percent at the spine and 0.7 percent at the neck. According to the study, African American participants recovered bone mineral density in the neck better than Hispanic or white women regardless of which method they chose.

Authors wrote, “Recent prospective studies have demonstrated that once DMPA is discontinued, BMD increases more among prior DMPA users than nonusers, suggesting that DMPA-related bone loss is reversible.”

Although this is very encouraging, authors say more information is needed to fully understand bone mineral density recovery.

Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks all reported births and deaths in the United States, including teen birth rates, and releases that information part of the National Vital Statistics Reports. The just-released report for the year 2006 shows that the birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 years increased, up 3 percent from 2005 after declining for the previous 14 years. Teen birth rates increased significantly in 26 states between 2005 and 2006, representing nearly every region of the country. But not every state was affected; some states have teen birth rates that are less than half of the national average. Below is a list of the states with the lowest teen birth rates in 2006. The rates per 1,000 females aged 15-19 are listed in parentheses.

The top 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates for 2006 are:

1. New Hampshire (18.7 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19). Virtually unchanged from a year ago, New Hampshire has the lowest teen birthrate in the nation, as it did in 2005.
2. Vermont (20.8). New Hampshire’s Northeastern neighbor was also second on the list last year and saw little change in the teen pregnancy rate in 2006.
3. Massachusetts (21.3). Another New England state, Massachusetts also had no change in its teen birth rate from last year and is less than half of the national average.
4. Connecticut (23.5). This densely populated state had a similar teen birth rate in 2006 as in 2005, but this represents a decrease of 42 percent since 1991.      
5. New Jersey (24.9). The Garden State actually saw a six percent increase in teen births from 2005, but remains in the fifth spot.
6. New York (25.7). The Nation’s second largest state saw a three percent decline in teen birth rate from 2005 to 2006, climbing two spots on the list.
7. Maine (25.8). Maine’s teen birth rate stayed about the same in 2006 but the state dropped one spot after being passed up by New York.
8. North Dakota (26.5). This Northern state saw only modest declines in the teen birth rate form the years 1991 to 2005: 16 percent was the smallest decline in the country. But they are making up for that now, with the teen birth rate declining 11 percent in the last year alone.
9. Rhode Island (27.8). With a decline of 11 percent over the 2005 teen birth rate, the Nation’s smallest state moved up four spots and into the top ten.
10. Minnesota (27.9). A seven percent increase in teen birth rate dropped Minnesota down three spots to number ten on the list.

If you have questions about teenage pregnancy, join the Healia Health Community for Teen Health or the Healia Health Community for Pregnancy, or ask the experts at Healia Health Communities.

Related blog post: The Top 10 States with the Highest Teen Birth Rates

_{Source: CDC, Births: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf}

_{Photo: LabGP&SigOther, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released its annual report on all live births in America for the year 2006, and it showed that for the first time in 15 years, the birth rate for teenagers aged 15–19 years increased, up 3 percent from 2005. Only the rate for the youngest adolescents declined in 2006, to 0.6 per 1,000 people aged 10–14 years. Birth rates for teenagers aged 15–17 and 18–19 years rose between 3 and 4 percent each. These increases follow huge declines of 45 and 26 percent, respectively, in the rates between 1991 and 2005. Teen birth rates increased significantly between 2005 and 2006 in 26 states, representing nearly every region of the country. Below is a list of the states with the highest teen birth rates in 2006. The rates per 1,000 females aged 15-19 are listed in parentheses.

The top 10 states with the highest teen birth rates for 2006 are:

1. Mississippi (68.4 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19). Also topping the list in 1991, Mississippi saw its teen birth rate decline 29 percent between 1991 and 2005, but it jumped 13 percent in 2006.
2. New Mexico (64.1). This Southwestern state saw a decline of 23 percent in the teen birth rate over 14 years but the rate held steady in 2006.
3. Texas (63.1). Texas’s teen birth rate rose a modest 2 percent in 2006 after experiencing a 21 percent decline over the previous 14 years.
4. Arkansas (62.3). This Southern state had an increase of 5 percent over last year, reversing a 26 percent decline between 1991 and 2005.
5. Arizona(62.0). Arizona’s teen birth rate rose 7 percent over last year and is a nearly 1.5 times the national average.
6. Oklahoma (59.6). After seeing a decline of 25 percent over 14 years, the rate of teen births in the Sooner state rose 10 percent from 2005.
7. Nevada (55.8). This Western state experienced the largest decline on the list over the previous 14 years, down one-third from 1991-2005. Unfortunately, Nevada reversed the trend and saw an 11 percent increase in 2006.
8. Tennessee (54.7). Tennessee’s teen birth rate was unchanged from 2005, but decreased 27 percent in the previous 14 years.
9. Kentucky (54.6). Tennessee’s neighbor to the North, Kentucky has a nearly identical teen birth rate, but for the Bluegrass State this represents an increase of 11 percent over 2005.
10. Georgia (54.2). Georgia’s teen birth rate declined 31 percent from 1991-2005 but creeped back up 3 percent in 2006.

If you have questions about teenage pregnancy, join the Healia Health Community for Teen Health or the Healia Health Community for Pregnancy, or ask the experts at Healia Health Communities.

Related blog post:  The Top 10 States with the Lowest Teen Birth Rates

_{Source: CDC, Births: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf}