Menopausal hormone therapy; a socio-demographic approach. 24-year
national descriptive study.
Abstract
Objectives: To describe changes by time, and to analyse
the current use of hormone therapy (HT) according age, geography,
urbanisation, education, and occupational groups.
Design: A historical descriptive study based on National
Registry data. Setting: Denmark, January 2000 through
September 2023 Population: All 1,703,162 female citizens
45-69 years old through the study period. Methods:. All
figures were calculated as defined daily doses per 100 person-days.
Outcomes: Use of different HT regimens and routes of
administration. Results: Among females 45-69 years, use
of systemic HT declined from 17% in 2000 to 3% in 2015 and onwards.
Among users of combined regimens, oral administration accounted for 90%
of the use until 2010. Since then, parenteral routes increased their
share to 50% at end of study period. Systemic HT was most frequently
used in the capital region, and more frequent in cities than in
countryside, whereas local vaginal estrogen was evenly distributed
according to urbanisation. In 2020-23 among females 50-59 years,
systemic HT increased about 50% with increasing length of education.
The percentage use was 4% in the general population, threefold higher
(12%) among general practitioners, fivefold higher (20%) in spouses of
male gynaecologists and nine-fold higher (35%) in female
gynaecologists. Conclusion: Use of HT increases with
urbanisation, with length of education, and is several folds higher
among general practitioners, gynaecologists and in their spouses.
Parenteral routes of HT have through last decade increased their share
of HT.