title: Hormones down under: hormone therapy use after the Women's Health Initiative.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective was to describe the usage pattern of hormone therapy (HT) in a sample of urban Australian women in 2001 and to assess the characteristics of users vs. non-users. The second objective was to determine whether there had been any change in usage since the publication of the results of the combined oestrogen plus progestagen arm of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 374 postmenopausal women aged 50-80 years participated in this substudy of the LAW (Longitudinal Assessment of Ageing in Women) project: a 5-year multidisciplinary, observational study. Participants completed an annual medical assessment including details of the use of HT and the reasons for use, as well as demographic and psychosocial data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In December 2001, 30.8% of the participants were using HT, whereas 55.4% were ever users. The management of vasomotor symptoms and mood disturbance were the primary reasons for use. Of those who had been using HT in December 2001 (24.4%) women ceased using HT in the 3 months following publication of the WHI results. The percentage of women using HT in December 2003 (13.9%) was less than half of that of December 2001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of HT use and the reasons for use, in 2001 in Brisbane was similar to that of other Australian regions. Usage of HT decreased since the publication of the WHI results in 2002 which may reflect changing attitudes by patients and practitioners regarding HT.
authors.affiliation: Betty Byrne Henderson Women's Health Research Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Travers
authors.forename: Sheila M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Soo-Keat
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Khoo
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017698:Postmenopause; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health; D016387:Women's Health