The efficacy of long-term estrogen replacement therapy in Turner syndrome women with premature ovarian insufficiency

Abstract Study Objective To evaluate the efficacy of long-term estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) in uterine development and bone mineral density (BMD) of Turner syndrome (TS) women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Design and Setting Retrospective study. Participants and Interventions Thirty-seven TS women grouped according to ovarian function status: TS women with POI (n = 32), aged 11-26 years, and those with intact ovarian function (IOF; n = 5), aged 13-17 years. TS women with POI underwent ERT. Main Outcome Measures Changes in uterine length, anterior-posterior (AP) fundal diameter of the uterus, and BMD were assessed. Statistical methods included Mann-Whitney U test and paired t test. Results In TS women with POI, uterine length, AP fundal diameter, and BMD significantly increased after ERT (P  Conclusion Long-term ERT increased uterine length (before: 4.4 cm; after: 7.2 cm) and AP fundal diameter (before: 0.9 cm; after: 2.4 cm), and improved BMD in TS women with POI. After ERT, in TS women with POI, uterine length, BMD at lumbar 2-4 and femoral neck were similar to those of TS women with IOF. Therefore, TS women with POI can catch up to those with IOF by receiving ERT.