White women most likely to get HRT prescriptions in England, study finds

Menopausal women of Chinese and black African backgrounds are about 80% less likely to receive hormone replacement therapy than white women, according to a large-scale study.

HRT is one of the most common treatments for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, mood swings, poor sleep and vaginal dryness. It can also help maintain muscle strength and prevent osteoporosis.

But a 10-year study of nearly 2 million women in England has found worrying inequalities in women’s access to HRT.

Academics at the University of Oxford examined HRT prescriptions issued in England to 1,978,348 women aged 40 to 60 over a 10-year period.

Findings presented at the World Congress on Menopause in Melbourne on Monday revealed that between 2013 and 2023, almost six times as many white women were prescribed HRT than black women, and more than twice as many women in affluent areas were offered HRT than those living in socially deprived areas.

While previous studies have identified unequal access to HRT, the academics believe this is the first study to quantify the likelihood of receiving it, having adjusted for age, deprivation and ethnicity.

Over the 10 years they found that, compared with their white counterparts, women of Chinese backgrounds were 82% less likely, and those of black African backgrounds 79% less likely, to receive HRT. Women from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds were respectively 70%, 64% and 61% less likely to be on HRT.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 21 October 2024