Table 1.

Median (range) of sexual hormones and sexual hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in eight women before and during therapy with oral contraceptives (OC)

				Relative change†
Variable	Before OC	During OC	P*	Mean(±SD)	Median (95% CI, %)
17β-estradiol [pg/ml]	31(20-65)	14(8-19)	0.012	−56.7(±23.1)	−63.8 (−76 to −37.4)
Progesterone [ng/ml]	0.65(0.3-1)	0.5(0.2-0.6)	0.011	−33.4(±14.2)	−33.3 (−45.3 to −21.5)
FSH [U/l]	5.25(0.7-8.1)	0.5(0.1-3.5)	0.012	−82.1(±17.3)	−87.8 (−96.5 to −67.7)
LH [U/l]	4.3(0.2-7.9)	0.35(0.1-4.5)	0.011	−73.8(±23.1)	−81.4 (−93 to −54.6)
SHBG [nmol/l]	54(19-79)	151.5(47-190)	0.012	205(±207)	130 (32.2 to 377)

^*P: Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data, comparing women not taking OC with women taking OC.

^†: Percentage ratio of the means during OC (study day 22, after the 19^th OC dose) relative to before OC (study day 1).