Quantitative ultrasound at the hand phalanges in women on hormone replacement therapy.

The aim of the observational study was to evaluate the influence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the results of quantitative ultrasound (US) at the hand phalanges in 732 women (mean age about 53 years). Among them were 228 postmenopausal women treated within 6 months after the last menstrual bleeding (group 1), 90 postmenopausal women taking HRT after a break between menopause and the onset of the therapy of about 2 years (group 2) and 414 controls. Mean age and body size did not differ significantly between groups studied. Years since menopause (YSM) did not differ significantly between group 2 and controls. Skeletal status was assessed using DBM Sonic 1200 (IGEA, Carpi, Italy), which measures amplitude-dependent speed of sound (Ad-SoS) in m/s. Ad-SoS was significantly higher in both groups on HRT than in controls (p < 0.000001), and in group 1 compared with group 2 (p < 0.05). The duration of HRT did not affect Ad-SoS values. The influence of age on Ad-SoS values was significantly weaker in women on HRT than in controls and YSM did not influence Ad-SoS value in postmenopausal women taking HRT. In controls, YSM negatively and significantly affected Ad-SoS value. In conclusion, HRT administered in perimenopause or early postmenopause had a significant influence on quantitative US measurements at the hand phalanges, and the difference between both treated groups suggests that HRT ought to be indicated directly after the last menstrual bleeding.