Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Among Women Age 40 or Older

HRT Facts

• The most commonly prescribed hormones in HRT are estrogen and progesterone/progestin.

• Progesterone/progestin is prescribed with estrogen to counteract estrogen’s effect on the endometrium and prevent uterine cancer.

• The progestin in estrogen/progestin therapy frequently causes side effects like mood swings and bloating that make women decide to go off therapy.

• After menopause, estrogen and progesterone levels in the body drop precipitously.

What Women Don’t Know About Hormones And HRT

• Two out of three (64%) women surveyed did not know or were not sure what hormones are affected as a woman enters menopause.
• 68% of all women surveyed did not know estrogen levels are affected.

• 92% of all women surveyed did not know progesterone levels are affected.

• While more than half (53%) of women surveyed consider themselves knowledgeable about estrogen, fewer than one in three (30%) consider themselves knowledgeable about progesterone.

• Half of women surveyed (51%) know that estrogen is one of the hormones commonly prescribed in HRT, but fewer than one in seven (14%) named progesterone as a common HRT component.

What Doctors Say And What Women Take Away

• 79% of women who consulted a doctor for menopause-related issues said their doctor did a good job explaining HRT.

• But nearly half (46% of all women surveyed) said they still are not sure which hormones were prescribed in HRT. And two out of three (65%) said they are not knowledgeable about progesterone, a common component of HRT.

What Women Know - And Don’t Know - Affects How They Make HRT Choices

• Women who consider themselves knowledgeable about estrogen and/or progesterone are much more likely than their uninformed counterparts to have experience with HRT.

• If entering menopause today, nearly half of women surveyed (41%) would not take hormone replacement therapy, and another one in five (17%) remain undecided.
• The inclination to use therapy is higher than average among women who feel they are knowledgeable about estrogen/progesterone (54%) and women in their fifties (52%).

• The top three reasons women say they would take HRT:
• To alleviate menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats): 32%

• To help prevent osteoporosis: 20%

• For the overall benefits, including health benefits: 11%

• The top five reasons women would not take HRT if they became menopausal today:
• Don’t know/not sure: 32%

• Side effects: 20%

• It’s not necessary - haven’t needed it: 18%

• Fear of the risks involved: 11%

• Unnatural: 10%

• How do women rank the following considerations when choosing a particular HRT regimen?
• Recommended by their doctor: 89%

• Fewer or less severe side effects: 87%

• Similar to their own body’s hormones: 83%

• Natural or plant-based: 73%

This survey was conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc., between March 24 and April 6, 1998.

Yankelovich Partners interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,009 American women age 40 and older. Interviews were conducted using a Random Digit Dial (RDD) technique to ensure that respondents with both listed and unlisted phone numbers were reached. The margin of error based on the total number of respondents is ± 3.1%.