Hormone replacement therapy: compliance and cost after screening for osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVE

To assess HRT compliance and cost 1 year after population screening for low bone density.

DESIGN

Postal questionnaire sent out to women 1 year after having a bone density scan.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Compliance with HRT, type of HRT and cost.

RESULTS

Compliance with HRT after screening for women with low bone density was 48% for postmenopausal women and 59% for women with a simple hysterectomy. The most often used form of HRT was Estraderm (49%) for women with a hysterectomy, whilst for women with an intact uterus Prempak-C (54%) was the most popular. The average annual cost of treating women who had had a hysterectomy was 67 pounds whilst for women with an intact uterus it was 61 pounds, a non-significant difference.

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately 50% of women with low bone density had started HRT within 1 year of having a densitometry examination. Previous reports of the cost advantage of treating women who had had a hysterectomy relative to those who had not has been overstated.