Attitudes towards and level of information on perimenopausal and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy among Norwegian women

Abstract

In order to investigate women's attitudes towards and level of information on perimenopausal and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) 1019 women over 17 years of age constituting a representative sample of the Norwegian female population were interviewed in 1990 as part of a monthly national opinion poll (response rate 96.5%). Women's magazines proved to be the most important source of information on hormone therapy. Only in the over-45 age group were doctors mentioned frequently as information sources. A high self-assessed information level was associated with a positive attitude towards hormone therapy. Those who had obtained information from a doctor were more positive than those who had not. More than half of those who expressed an opinion believed that hormone therapy increased the risk of heart infarction, stroke, breast cancer and cancer in general. There was a strong association between a negative attitude, towards using hormones and belief in an increased risk of serious disease. The women were more positive towards the use of HRT for the prevention of osteoporosis and for postmenopausal urogenital complaints than for the alleviation of climacteric symptoms.