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TerminatedNCT01944306Updated Dec 13, 2019

Obesity and Oral Contraceptive Failure

An observational study in Contraception, Fetal Growth Retardation and Infant, Small for Gestational Age, sponsored by Oregon Health and Science University. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-13.

Sponsored by Oregon Health and Science University · Observational

Why this study was terminated
Due to lack of funds, the study has been terminated upon recruiting less than desired number of subjects
Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
26
Ages
18 Years to 35 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Contraceptive failure is the primary cause of unintended pregnancy in the United States. With obesity rates at epidemic proportions, any association between obesity and strategies that prevent undesired pregnancies constitutes a significant public health and economic concern. Evidence from recent epidemiological studies and our preliminary data (sub-therapeutic levels of steroid hormones due to drug clearance and half-life) suggest that obesity reduces oral contraceptive efficacy. Furthermore, preliminary analysis suggested that a sub-group of obese women, defined by their own birth weight, are at higher risk of contraceptive failure. Further studies are necessary to investigate whether birth weight, a surrogate marker of in utero growth restriction, is a useful diagnostic marker for the identification of women prone to contraceptive failure. Such an understanding is critical to finding a contraceptive strategy with better efficacy for these women.

The overall goal of this project is to test pharmacokinetics of oral contraceptive agents in obese women with low birth weight and compare to obese women with normal birth weight. The main hypothesis for this proposal is that an adverse in utero environment programs the expression and function of enzymes and transporters that underlie pharmacokinetics of oral contraceptives, and leads to contraceptive failure.

Reproductive-aged, ovulatory women of obese BMI >30 kg/m2 with normal birth weight (5.5-8 lbs; n=10) and low birth weight (\<5.5 lbs; n=10), will be placed on oral contraceptives for 1 month. At several key time points, synthetic steroid pharmacokinetics, gonadotropins (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone) and ovarian hormone levels (estradiol, progesterone) will be monitored.

02

Conditions studied

  • Contraception
  • Fetal Growth Retardation
  • Infant, Small for Gestational Age
  • Obesity

Keywords

  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Pharmacology, Clinical
  • Drug Efficacy
  • Drug Failure
  • Contraceptive Agents
03

In context

Fetal Growth Retardation

264 studies on the registry are indexed under Fetal Growth Retardation; 66 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 26 is below the median of 161 across 142 observational studies indexed under Fetal Growth Retardation.

Browse Fetal Growth Retardation studies →

Lead sponsor

Oregon Health and Science University is the lead sponsor of 676 studies on the registry; 136 are open to participants now.

Of its 49 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 36 (73%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 35 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Reproductive-aged, ovulatory women seeking to initiate contraception with combined oral contraceptives will be recruited from the female population of the Portland, OR area. Subjects must have access to their birth weight record. Enrollment will be confined to women who have not used a hormonal contraceptive method for 30 days or more prior to enrollment.

Inclusion criteria

  • age 18 to 35.
  • single progesterone level of 3 ng/mL or greater during the luteal phase (days 18 to 25) in the menstrual cycle prior to dosing with oral contraceptives.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • absolute/relative contraindications to ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel.
  • impaired liver function.
  • history of deep venous thrombosis.
  • hypertension (> 140/90).
  • diabetes with vascular changes.
  • migraines with aura or neurological changes.
  • history of myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolus, stroke or breast cancer.
  • anemia (hematocrit \< 36%).
  • actively seeking or involved in a weight loss program (must be weight stable)
  • pregnancy, breastfeeding, or seeking pregnancy.
  • diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
  • recent (4 week) use of hormonal contraceptives (patch or ring included), intrauterine, or implantable hormonal contraception.
  • DepoProvera use within six months.
  • current use of drugs that interfere with metabolism of sex steroids.
  • smokers.
  • uncontrolled thyroid dysfunction.
05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
26 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Low birth-weight, obese
  • Low birth-weight, normal body weight
  • Normal birth-weight, obese
  • Normal birth-weight, normal body weight
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Measure pharmacokinetic parameters of oral contraceptives including drug clearance.

    Serum concentration-time data for each subject will be analyzed using a non-compartmental model assumption. Serum concentrations below the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) at the beginning and end of the profile will be set to zero. Serum concentration-time profiles will be summarized using descriptive statistics and graphical display. Student t-tests will be used to test whether the average values of each of the pharmacokinetic parameters, including free concentrations, differ between the four groups of women.

    Time frame: on day 21 of oral contraceptive use

Secondary outcomes

  1. Measure levels of gonadotropins and ovarian hormones

    To compare gonadotopin levels, average leutinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone levels measured for days 21-25 will be calculated. In addition, the follicle stimulating hormone/leutinizing hormone ratio will be calculated at each time point. The average levels of these measures will then be compared between the four groups of women using a student's t-test.

    Time frame: Days 21-25 of oral contraceptive use

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Oregon Health & Science University
    Portland, Oregon 97239, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Edelman AB, Carlson NE, Cherala G, Munar MY, Stouffer RL, Cameron JL, Stanczyk FZ, Jensen JT. Impact of obesity on oral contraceptive pharmacokinetics and hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian activity. Contraception. 2009 Aug;80(2):119-27. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2009.04.011. Epub 2009 Jun 4. PubMed 19631786 ↗
  • Cherala G, Thornburg K, Edelman A. Birthweight and cytochrome P4503A4/5 activity in obese women. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2013 Jan;75(1):275-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2012.04309.x. No abstract available. PubMed 22534035 ↗
  • Edelman AB, Cherala G, Munar MY, Dubois B, McInnis M, Stanczyk FZ, Jensen JT. Prolonged monitoring of ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel levels confirms an altered pharmacokinetic profile in obese oral contraceptives users. Contraception. 2013 Feb;87(2):220-6. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.10.008. Epub 2012 Nov 12. PubMed 23153898 ↗
  • Edelman A, Cherala G, Lim JY, Jensen JT. Contraceptive failures in overweight and obese combined hormonal contraceptive users. Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Jul;122(1):158-159. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3182995811. No abstract available. PubMed 23787930 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 13, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01944306
Lead sponsor
Oregon Health and Science University
Collaborators
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 17, 2013
Start date
Aug 2013
Primary completion
Apr 2015
Completion
Apr 2015
Last update
Dec 13, 2019

Study contacts

Ganesh Cherala, PhD
principal investigator · Oregon Health and Science University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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