Clinical guidelines for improving compliance with hormone therapy in Latin American women during the menopausal transition and thereafter.

Objective: To provide uniform, objective guidance for physicians and other health care workers in Latin America to enhance compliance with hormone therapy (HT), and to provide a tool for continued medical education and a source for answering clinical questions.

Method: Literature search using MEDLINE; identification of key relevant publications by a five-member expert committee; creation and validation of a 60-item questionnaire used to survey the opinion of 72 physicians participating in a Latin American symposium, "The Faces of Menopause".

Results: On the basis of the validated responses, major points were identified to enhance compliance with HT with specific reference to Latin America, and two algorithms were created to provide practical guidance.

The impact of a monophasic continuous estro-progestogenic treatment on Latin American menopausal women.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the impact, effectiveness and safety of a monophasic hormone replacement treatment (HRT) for continuous use with regards to the clinical effects, bleeding patterns and lipid profile of menopausal women in four Latin American countries.

Design: Three hundred and six postmenopausal women with natural menopause and uterus present were recruited. This was a multicentre prospective, clinical trial; the participating countries were Brazil (BR), Colombia (CO), Mexico (MX) and Argentina (AR).

Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women (Mexico City): 2. Validation of a predictive clinical index.

Objective: To analyze and validate a clinical index (CI) in postmenopausal women that will help to determine the need for bone absorptiometry.

Methods: 1088 postmenopausal women were studied; age, body mass index (BMI) and time since menopause (TM) were analyzed. A score was attributed to each variable (0 points if it did not increase the risk of osteoporosis or 1 point if it increased it): age < or = 48 years = 0 points, >48 years = 1 point; BMI < or = 32 = 1 point or >32 = 0 points for lumbar spine and Ward's triangle (WT); BMI < or = 30 = 1 point or >30 = 0 points for femoral neck (FN); TM < or = 5 years = 0 points or >5 years = 1 point.

Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women (Mexico City): 1. Risk factors.

Objective: To determine risk factors for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women from Mexico City.

Method: The following prognostic variables for low bone density were analyzed in 400 postmenopausal women: age, body mass index (BMI), time since menopause (TM), previous and current hormone replacement therapy (HRT), previous use of corticosteroids, thyroid disease, and previous fractures. All patients were submitted to bone absorptiometry (DEXA) considering the diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis established by the WHO.