Medco Health Services Inc, Tampa, FL 33637, USA.
Menopause. 2012 Jun;19(6):616-21. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e31824bb039.
Nearly a decade ago, landmark clinical trials revealed an increase in the risks associated with hormone therapy in postmenopausal women, leading to early changes in prescribing patterns. Long-term prescribing patterns in the United States after these trials are unknown. The objective of this study was to describe changes in hormone therapy prescribing including dose, formulation, patient age, and prescriber specialty from 2000 to 2009.
A national pharmacy claims database was used to describe the annual prevalence and incidence rates of hormone therapy prescribing from 2000 to 2009 in women 50 years and older.
Throughout the decade, a number of prescribing trends were observed: a continuous decline in hormone therapy overall, an initial drop in new therapy that stabilized after 2003, a decline in oral formulations and increase in vaginal formulations, a decline in standard- and high-dose and an increase in low-dose oral formulations, and an increase in the proportion of women who received hormone therapy from gynecologists.
Overall prescribing of hormone therapy continued to decline during the past decade, suggesting a long-term impact of the Women's Health Initiative findings. During this same time, treatment regimens shifted to favor vaginal and lower-dose oral formulations.
近十年前，具有里程碑意义的临床试验揭示了绝经后妇女使用激素疗法相关风险的增加，导致处方模式的早期改变。这些试验后美国长期的激素疗法处方模式尚不清楚。本研究的目的是描述从 2000 年到 2009 年期间激素疗法处方的变化，包括剂量、剂型、患者年龄和开处方医生的专业。
使用全国性的药房索赔数据库，描述了 2000 年至 2009 年间 50 岁及以上女性激素疗法的年患病率和发病率。
在整个十年中，观察到了一些处方趋势：整体上激素疗法持续下降，新疗法的初始下降在 2003 年后稳定，口服制剂减少而阴道制剂增加，标准剂量和高剂量减少而低剂量口服制剂增加，以及接受激素疗法的女性中妇科医生比例增加。
在过去的十年中，激素疗法的整体处方继续下降，这表明妇女健康倡议研究结果的长期影响。在此期间，治疗方案转向有利于阴道和低剂量口服制剂。
