Hormone replacement therapy use in Australia
According to a recent Roy Morgan Research Health Monitor in the 12 months to March 2010, 7% of Australian Women (638,000 women) reported menopausal problems.
This is marginally lower than the 7.5% recorded in the 12 months to September 2007. During the same time period an estimated 3% (236,000 women), used Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which is marginally lower than the 3.5% recorded in 2007, but stable over the last two years.
Menopause problems are reported by 21% of Australian women aged 50-64 years (409,000 women), yet only 7% of women in this age group (142,000 women) use HRT, according to Roy Morgan Research data. The percentage of women aged 65 and over taking HRT (4%) is higher than those reporting menopause problems (2%).
Nick Williams, Healthcare Consumer Consultant, says that “There has been much debate over the past decade regarding evidence that linked duration of treatment with some forms of HRT, to a low but incremental risk of breast cancer.
“Considering this, it is interesting to note that the percentage of Australian women opting to use HRT has not substantially decreased since the survey began and appears to have stabilized over the past two years.”
