Table 3. Sample demographics of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) users with prescription data, stratified by estrogen-only MHT or combined MHT use.
| Estrogens-only | Combined | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 224 | 314 | |
| Age (years)* | 66.1±6.6 | 65.5±6.7 | 0.318 |
| Education N (%) | 0.286 | ||
| College/University degree | 104 (46.4) | 158 (50.3) | |
| A levels/AS levels or equivalent | 21 (9.4) | 29 (9.2) | |
| O levels/GCSEs or equivalent | 45 (20.1) | 70 (22.3) | |
| CSEs or equivalent | 9 (4.0) | 14 (4.5) | |
| NVQ/HND/HNC or equivalent | 5 (2.2) | 11 (3.5) | |
| Other professional qualifications | 18 (8.0) | 16 (5.1) | |
| None of the above | 22 (9.8) | 16 (5.1) | |
| Lifestyle score* | 1.7±1.2 | 1.8±1.3 | 0.212 |
| BMI (kg/m2)* | 26.1±4.1 | 26.1±4.8 | 0.959 |
| Menopausal Status (%) | <0.001 | ||
| No | 2 (0.9) | 3 (1.0) | |
| Yes | 140 (62.5) | 285 (90.8) | |
| Not sure – had a hysterectomy | 77 (34.4) | 21 (6.7) | |
| Not sure – other reason | 5 (2.2) | 5 (1.6) | |
| APOE ε4 status, carrier, N (%) | 64 (29.4) | 75 (24.8) | 0.284 |
| APOE ε4, allele, N (%) | |||
| non-carrier | 154 (70.6) | 228 (75.2) | 0.486 |
| ε3/ ε4 | 59 (27.1) | 70 (23.1) | |
| ε4/ ε4 | 5 (2.3) | 5 (1.7) | |
| Hyster-/Oophorectomy, yes (%) | 79 (41.1) | 34 (11.2) | <0.001 |
| Number of drug regimes | 1.39 (0.99) | 2.68 (1.83) | <0.001 |
| Drug dosage, estrogens (mg) | 0.3±0.4 | 1.0±0.7 | <0.001 |
| Drug dosage, progestin (mg) | 5.4±20.6 | ||
| Duration of use, estrogens (weeks) | 202.4±197.7 | 244.8±202.2 | 0.031 |
| Duration of use, progestin (weeks) | 195.2±174.7 | ||
| Route of administration, N (%) | <0.001 | ||
| oral | 40 (17.9) | 193 (61.5) | |
| transdermal | 50 (22.3) | 14 (4.5) | |
| vaginal | 109 (48.7) | 0 (0.0) | |
| injectionꞋ | 4 (1.8) | 5 (1.6) | |
| mixed | 21 (9.4) | 102 (32.5) | |
| Estrogens, active ingredient, N (%) | |||
| estradiol hemihydrate° | 141 (62.9) | ||
| CEE | 18 (8.0) | ||
| estradiol° | 34 (15.2) | ||
| estradiol valerate° | 4 (1.8) | ||
| tibolone | 0 (0.0) | ||
| mixed | 27 (12.1) | ||
| Estrogens + Progestins, active ingredient, N (%) | |||
| estradiol hemihydrate & norethisterone acetate 1 | 51 (16.2) | ||
| estradiol hemihydrate & dydrogesterone° 2 | 14 (4.5) | ||
| estradiol hemihydrate & norethisterone 1 | 13 (4.1) | ||
| estradiol hemihydrate & levonorgestre 2 | 2 (0.6) | ||
| estradiol hemihydrate & drospirenone 3 | 1 (0.3) | ||
| CEE & norgestrel 2 | 19 (6.1) | ||
| CEE & medroxyprogesterone acetate 1 | 10 (3.2) | ||
| CEE & norethisterone1 | 2 (0.6) | ||
| estradiol valerate & norethisterone 1 | 8 (2.5) | ||
| estradiol valerate & levonorgestrel 2 | 3 (1.0) | ||
| estradiol valerate & medroxyprogesterone acetate 1 | 3 (1.0) | ||
| estradiol & norethisterone acetate 1 | 7 (2.2) | ||
| estradiol & norethisterone 1 | 3 (1.0) | ||
| estradiol & progesterone° 1 | 2 (0.6) | ||
| tibolone | 13 (4.1) | ||
| mixed | 163 (51.9) |
*
Mean ±Standard Deviation. °Bioidentical form (no circle indicates synthetic form); 1-3=progestin generations; Ꞌincl. subcutaneous and intravenous infections. Abbreviations: N, sample size; GCSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education; CSE, Certificate of Secondary Education; NVQ, National Vocational Qualification; BMI, body mass index; APOE, apolipoprotein; CEE, conjugated equine estrogen. Significant differences between groups based on t/χ2 tests are highlighted in bold.