Table 2.
Plasma concentrations of homoarginine, arginine, ADMA, SDMA and Arg/ADMA and hArg/ADMA ratios according to use of contraceptives (n = 158).
| Parameters | Non-users N = 76 | Users of hormonal contraceptives | P value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With estrogen and progestins N = 58 | Progestin-only N = 24 | |||
| Plasma homoarginine, µmol/L | 1.63 (1.24, 2.04) | 2.39 (2.05, 2.85) | 1.34 (0.93, 1.73) | <0.001 |
| Plasma arginine, µmol/L | 80.8 (72.4, 94.3) | 72.1 (62.9, 85.1) | 72.7 (62.8, 91.8) | 0.03 |
| Plasma ADMA, µmol/L | 0.52 (0.46, 0.59) | 0.48 (0.42, 0.54) | 0.53 (0.48, 0.58) | 0.003 |
| Plasma SDMA, µmol/L | 0.54 (0.46, 0.61) | 0.56 (0.49, 0.59) | 0.52 (0.49, 0.60) | 0.86 |
| Arg/ADMA ratio | 157.5 (134.8, 178.9) | 156.4 (138.5, 178.3) | 141.3 (123.8, 168.5) | 0.24 |
| hArg/ADMA ratio | 3.02 (2.36, 4.09) | 5.34 (3.86, 5.93) | 2.39 (1.78, 2.99) | <0.001 |
*Median (IQR), comparison by Kruskal Wallis test.