Centre of Academic Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill Health Centre, Westburn Road, Aberdeen AB25 2AY, UK.
Fam Pract. 2010 Oct;27(5):499-506. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmq038. Epub 2010 Jun 7.
Women with menopausal symptoms often consult with a health professional. Recently, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribing has declined but the impact of this change on other aspects of general practice workload is unclear.
To investigate whether the menopause remains a workload issue.
A retrospective observational study of UK general practice (General Practice Research Database) using four random samples of 25000 women aged 45-64 years registered with a general practice during 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2005. We calculated the incidence and prevalence of menopause-related consultation; gynaecology referrals; prescriptions for HRT, clonidine and antidepressants during each year; examined patterns over time and investigated whether the types of preparations had changed.
The prevalence and incidence of menopause-related consultation fell-from 18.1% of women aged 45-64 years consulting at least once in 1996 to 10.4% in 2005. Over time, the proportion of women consulting about the menopause who were not prescribed HRT or clonidine increased. The incidence and prevalence of HRT decreased, mainly between 2002 and 2005. The proportion of women prescribed oral HRT fell while the proportion prescribed cream or pessaries/suppositories increased, particularly among women without a hysterectomy. Referrals to gynaecology and the incidence and prevalence of clonidine prescribing increased but remained uncommon. Patterns of antidepressant prescribing did not appear menopause related.
Although menopause-related workload has decreased over time, in 2005, over 10% of women aged 45-64 years consulted for a menopause-related matter. This suggests that the menopause remains an important part of UK general practice work.
有更年期症状的女性经常会咨询健康专家。最近，激素替代疗法（HRT）的处方量有所下降，但这种变化对全科医生工作量的其他方面的影响尚不清楚。
调查更年期是否仍然是一个工作量问题。
这是一项针对英国普通科实践的回顾性观察研究（普通科研究数据库），使用了在 1996 年、1999 年、2002 年和 2005 年期间注册的一家普通科医生处登记的 45-64 岁女性各 25000 名的四个随机样本。我们计算了与更年期相关的咨询、妇科转诊、HRT、可乐定和抗抑郁药处方的发病率和患病率；考察了随时间的变化模式，并调查了制剂类型是否发生了变化。
更年期相关咨询的发病率和患病率从 1996 年 45-64 岁女性中至少有 1 次就诊的 18.1%降至 2005 年的 10.4%。随着时间的推移，咨询更年期但未开具 HRT 或可乐定的女性比例有所增加。HRT 的发病率和患病率下降，主要发生在 2002 年至 2005 年期间。口服 HRT 的处方比例下降，而乳膏或栓剂/阴道栓剂的处方比例上升，特别是在没有子宫切除术的女性中。妇科转诊以及可乐定处方的发病率和患病率增加，但仍不常见。抗抑郁药处方模式似乎与更年期无关。
尽管更年期相关的工作量随着时间的推移而减少，但在 2005 年，仍有 10%以上的 45-64 岁女性因更年期相关问题就诊。这表明更年期仍然是英国普通科医生工作的重要组成部分。
