Prevalence of hormone replacement therapy and antidepressant use in peri- and postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and antidepressant use in peri- and postmenopausal women.


METHODS
Prevalence survey.


METHODS
Peri- and postmenopausal outpatients (N = 253) at five medical clinics.


METHODS
Participants completed a 47-item questionnaire requesting information on mood changes associated with menstruation, childbirth, oral contraceptive use, and menopause. Peri- and postmenopausal participants were asked to rate the severity of dysphoric symptoms experienced during the menopausal transition and to specify whether HRT, antianxiety medication, or antidepressant medication relieved the symptoms.


RESULTS
Forty percent of respondents experienced more severe depression than anticipated during menopause, but only 8% were treated with antidepressants. Forty-six percent of respondents were treated with HRT.


CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest that antidepressant and antianxiety medications are more helpful than HRT in relieving peri- and postmenopausal depression or anxiety. However, most women managed the mood changes associated with menopause without psychopharmacologic intervention. This is consistent with other reports on the transitory nature of peri- and postmenopausal depression for most women.
Gartrell
N K
NK
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Koh
A S
AS
Becker
C
C
LaVoy
A
A
Rosen
S
S
Thiemann
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017723:Drug Utilization Review; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D000928:Antidepressive Agents