Personal use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy by women physicians in the United States.

Background: Women physicians' use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is unknown.

Objective: To study use of HRT by women physicians in the United States.

Design: Stratified random-sample mail survey.

Setting: United States Participants: 1466 postmenopausal women U.S. physicians in the Women Physicians' health study.

Measurements: Self-reported personal use of HRT and information on demographic, professional, and behavioral characteristics and medical history.

Results: Overall, 47.4% of participants currently use HRT; the prevalence of use is 59.8% in women 40 to 49 years of age, 49.4% in women 50 to 59 years of age, and 36.4% in women 60 to 70 years of age (P < 0.001). In an adjusted logistic regression model, current users were significantly more likely to be gynecologists, to be younger, to be white, to be sexually active, to be previous users of oral contraceptives, to live in Pacific or Mountain states, to have had a hysterectomy, and to have no personal or family history of breast cancer.

Conclusions: Women physicians have a higher rate of HRT use than that reported in cross-sectional U.S. surveys. This may presage greater use of HRT for U.S. women in the future.