Hormone therapy use in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: a cross-sectional analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with hormone therapy (HT) use among Canadian women.

METHODS: Baseline data from the Tracking cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) was used for this analysis. The main outcome was HT use among women aged 45-85 years, defined as current, past, and never users. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the differences between current, past, and never HT users in terms of sociodemographic, health behavior, and health-related variables.

RESULTS: Overall, 9.5% of the sample reported current use of HT, whereas 21.9% reported past use. The main factors associated with a lower likelihood of current HT use were older age (>80 y), nonwhite ethnic background, current employment, regular smoking, obesity, and breast cancer. By contrast, alcohol consumption, and the presence of allergies or mood disorders were positively associated with current HT use.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide a recent national picture of HT use in Canada that may be used to inform opportunities for improved physician-patient communication regarding menopause management.