Impact of women's health initiative study on attitude and acceptance of hormone replacement therapy in Thai women attending menopause clinics.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the attitude and acceptance of Thai women attending menopause clinics on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) publication.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A standardized questionnaire was used to assess attitude and acceptance of HRT in 1,206 women who visited menopause clinics in six hospitals between September 2005 and February 2006.

RESULTS

Of the total respondents, 92% were in the age of 40-70 years, 75% were in their peri- and post menopause, 25% were current users and the average duration of hormone use was 5.6 +/- 5.3 years. The women's perception of hormone benefits on osteoporosis prevention, skin improvement, and hot flashes treatment were 39.1%, 31.7%, and 28.9%, respectively. The most common concern of hormone use was malignancy. Hormone side effects were found to be the most common reason for switching hormone regimen. Of all the past users, 85% stopped HRT because they changed to another treatment regimen. Only 3.7% had been aware the WHI, of which 43.5% were influenced by its results. The most common source of HRT information was from doctors. For the ever users, 72.3% had some knowledge about HRT.

CONCLUSION

The present survey revealed that very few women had been aware of the WHI study. Nevertheless, the prevalence of HRT current users was lower compared to a prior survey before the WHI publication. Doctors appeared to be the important source of HRT information, which may indirectly have an influence over women's attitude and acceptance on HRT.