[Reality of menopausal hormone replacement therapy by French gynaecologists: OCEANIDES, a transversal and longitudinal national epidemiology study].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the initiation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in standard gynaecological practice in France, and to assess treatment adherence factors at 1 year follow-up.


METHODS
Six hundred and nineteen gynaecologists distributed on the French territory and 1428 menopausal women were included in a transversal then longitudinal epidemiology study run over a period of 1 year. They filled out a questionnaire specially made for the purpose. All patients underwent patch HRT.


RESULTS
One year after initiation of HRT, 1161 patients completed the study; 959 (82.6%) were still under HRT, and 202 (17.4%) had stopped altogether. Very few differences were found between those patients continuing with and those having stopped HRT. The two groups were comparable for the whole range of their own socio-demographic characteristics and for the demographic characteristics and medical practice of their gynaecologists. It had, however, more often been for renewal of an ongoing treatment that the patients who later ceased HRT had come to the consultation at which HRT was initiated, and these patients had less often enquired about the sexual benefits of HRT.


CONCLUSIONS
Adherence to physician-initiated patch HRT was good at 1 year follow-up. This result may be related to the quality of care provided by the gynaecologists, who listened to their patients, explained the treatment, and initiated personalised low-dose regimens, which they adapted to the patients' needs.
Tamborini
A
A
Centre de surveillance et de traitement de la ménopause, service de gynécologie, hôpital européen Georges-Pompidou, 20, rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France. alain.tamborini@wanadoo.fr
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires