BMJ 2003;326:322-326 ( 8 February )

Clinical review

Making decisions about hormone replacement therapy

Janice Rymer, senior lecturer ^a, Ruth Wilson, professor ^b, Karen Ballard, director of postgraduate studies ^c. 

^a Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital Trust, London SE1 7EH, ^b Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, ^c Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, King's College London SE11 6SP

Correspondence to: J Rymer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St Thomas's Hospital, London SE1 7EH janice.rymer@kcl.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many women will at some stage consider taking hormone replacement therapy, but uncertainty about the risks and benefits makes this decision difficult

Since hormone replacement therapy was introduced 70 years ago, a steady flow of studies has produced evidence of both harmful and beneficial effects. Recent British studies have shown that 60% of women aged 51-7 years have taken hormone replacement therapy,¹ with 45% having tried it by the time they are 50.² In the United States, about 38% of postmenopausal women take hormone replacement therapy. In 2000, 46 million prescriptions were written for Premarin (conjugated equine oestrogens), making it the second most frequently prescribed drug in the United States.³

Women are increasingly encouraged to participate in making decisions about hormone replacement therapy. However, the complexity and uncertainty of information about the treatment can make it difficult for women to make a decision, increasing their reliance on medical advice.⁴ The publication of the heart . . . [Full text of this article]

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