Relevance of the results of the Women's Health Initiative on the prescription of hormone therapy in Spain

Abstract

Objective To identify the possible repercussions of suspending the estrogen–gestagen arm of the WHI trial among Spanish health-care professionals habitually using hormonal therapy in their practice of medicine and to attempt to identify the possible changes in their attitudes and prescription habits regarding this issue.

Design We designed a survey in the form of an anonymous self-administered interview with 18 questions, distributed to 3592 specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology belonging to the Spanish Association for the Study of the Menopause (AEEM in its Spanish acronym) and the Spanish Gynecology and Obstetrics Society (SEGO in its Spanish acronym). The study was national in scope and the questionnaires were distributed between November 2002 and January 2003, with reception of questionnaires concluding in February 2003.

Results Of the participants, 96% stated that they knew the results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study as published in the Journal of the American Medical Association; 63% felt that the cardiovascular results of the trial were important for their clinical practice (55% of males and 80% of females surveyed), and 42% of the men and 18% of women stated the opposite. The results of the WHI should not be extrapolated to other types of hormone therapy (84%) and only 10% considered this possibility acceptable.

Conclusions From our study, it can be inferred that Spanish gynecologists believe they know the WHI study and state that its results cannot be extrapolated to our setting. However, following its publication, they have suspended more than 10% of therapies, have limited their indications, and have reduced their recommended duration.

• Women's Health Initiative
• Hormone Therapy
• After WHI
• Menopause
• Postmenopausal Women