Characteristics of menopausal women: a survey of King and Pierce counties in Washington, 1973-2974.

ABSTRACT

PIP: In response to the growing role of estrogen therapy in the lives of menopausal women and the unanswered questions concerning it, a survey of menopausal women residing in King and Pierce counties in Washington - with respect to menopausal characteristics and estrogen treatment - was conducted in 1973-1974. 487 women met the criteria - menstrual periods had stopped or had begun to stop. Of these, 173 (36%) reported having used estrogens and 280 (57%) reported no estrogen use. The 7% who gave an answer other than yes or no were excluded. From each of the 2 remaining groups, 100 women were randomly selected. All women interviewed in person or by telephone were asked for permission to examine their ambulatory medical care records. Age-specific menopause rates do not differ substantially from rates derived from data from the 1960-1962 U.S. Health Examination Survey, although women over age 50 were more likely to report operative menopause in the present study than in the Health Examination Survey. this is in contrast to an estimated 26% rate of severe menopausal sysmptoms. Median use of menopausal estrogen therapy was over 10 years. Estrogen users were younger than non-users and reported more formal education. More users had had difficulty with severe menopausal symtoms and more had had a hysterectomy.