title: Medication Use by Race and Ethnicity in Women Transitioning Through the Menopause: A Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Drug Epidemiology Study.
abstract: Medication utilization and costs increased over the last decade, but the effects of race/ethnicity have never been well studied in longitudinal data. We analyzed reports of prescription medication use to (1) identify trajectories of use and (2) determine predictors associated with a large increase in use. Specifically, variations in medication use by race/ethnicity were examined.
  
  
  
  We analyzed the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation cohort with a median of 14 years of follow-up. Group-based trajectory models helped distinguish women with a low use of medications versus those with heavy use. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for each racial/ethnic group associated with heavy use, controlling for potential baseline confounders.
  
  
  
  The 2,798 women sampled had a mean age of 46 years at baseline and the median number of medications at baseline was 2, increasing to 4 over the follow-up period. Trajectory models identified that 16% of participants demonstrated heavy use of medications, from a median of 5 at baseline to 10 medications at final follow-up. Regression models controlling for age, obesity, number of comorbid conditions, and pain found that Hispanic (OR = 0.085, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.037-0.20), Chinese (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.16-0.63), Japanese (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.17-0.64), and Black (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.57-1.11) women had lower odds for heavy use compared with White women.
  
  
  
  Longitudinal medication use among women in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) differed by race/ethnicity with non-White women having a lower odds of heavy use.
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Rheumatology, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ruppert
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Gail A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Greendale
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Yinjuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Rheumatology, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Faith
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Selzer
authors.affiliation: 4 Endocrinology Unity, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008593:Menopause / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044469:Racial Groups; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology*
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs