title: Fertility desires, choice of hormone replacement and the effect of length of time since menopause on bone density in women with premature ovarian insufficiency: a review of 223 consecutive new referrals to a tertiary centre.
abstract: Premature ovarian insufficiency can have significant implications for the affected women. This review assesses the fertility desires, choice of hormone replacement, and the effect of time since menopause on the bone density of these women. This is a retrospective analysis of 223 consecutive new referrals. The average age (mean [± standard deviation]) of the women was 37.35 (± 5.88) years, with 24.1% (n = 19/79) presenting within 12 months of the onset of symptoms, most commonly, vasomotor type symptoms (n = 98/223; 43.9%). Of the women included, 58.7% (n = 131/223) took hormone replacement therapy (HRT), most commonly, an oral (n = 90/131; 68.7%) sequential preparation (n = 91/131; 69.5%), with a significant number of women >40 years of age preferring the transdermal route (n = 26/54; 48.1%; p<0.01). A total of 37.7% (n = 84/223) of the women expressed concerns regarding their future fertility, more notable in women ≤ 40 years (n = 72/142; 50.7%; p < 0.01). Of these, 41.7% (n = 35/84) took HRT, most commonly, a sequential regimen (n = 26/35; 74.3%) with oral estradiol (n = 30/35; 85.7%); 69.5% (n = 155/223) of the women had had a bone densitometry scan performed, with 66.5% (n = 103/155) showing normal bone mineral density (BMD), but a greater likelihood of having reduced BMD the greater the time delay in presentation. No difference was seen for the three broad categories of BMD when further analysed for the cause of premature ovarian insufficiency, but a significant difference was noted for the spinal Z-scores, whereby women who underwent a surgically induced menopause were noted to have lower BMD compared with the other causes (p < 0.01). These findings can be useful in counselling women and guiding clinicians in their management of women with premature ovarian insufficiency.
authors: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK mittalmoni@yahoo.co.uk.
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Mittal
authors: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Kreatsa
authors: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors: Nitish
authors: N
authors: Narvekar
authors: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Savvas
authors: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors: Haitham
authors: H
authors: Hamoda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D004958:Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016649:Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol
keywords: Estrogen; hormone replacement therapy; menopause; osteoporosis; vasomotor symptoms