u/19thnews

Hi everyone, my name is Jennifer Gerson and I’m a reporter with The 19th, where I write a newsletter about my experiences with menopause, midlife and aging. I’ve been covering issues related to hormone therapy, such as the shortage of estrogen patches, and I wanted to share some very interesting research that was recently presented at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists annual meeting.

The research found that huge racial discrepancies exist in the use of menopause hormone therapy, with White women being twice as likely to be on hormone therapy as Black women.

• 10.8 percent of potential White patients use menopause hormone therapy
• 5.4 percent of potential Black patients use menopause hormone therapy
• 6.2 percent of potential Asian patients use menopause hormone therapy

Black women were more likely to receive prescription medications indicated for the management of menopause symptoms that are not hormone therapy, like SSRIs for mood symptoms or Veozah, an FDA-approved treatment for severe hot flashes. 

But Asian women were the most likely to not be prescribed pharmacologic intervention of any kind, hormonal or otherwise. 

Nikita Chigullapally, an MD candidate at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine in Urbana, conducted the analysis by looking at electronic health record data for 1.8 million menopausal women nationwide. What she and her colleagues found was that 9.6 percent of people in the entire sample pool used hormone therapy — which made the racial disparities all the more striking. 

Speaking to MedPage Today, Chigullapally pointed to the fact that cultural norms tied to race can impact someone’s likelihood to seek treatment for their menopause symptoms — and that race can also impact the way doctors prescribe treatment.

“Black women are being steered towards those other alternatives and Asian women are under using all treatments, not just hormone treatments," Chigullapally said.

I’m curious to know what you all think about the research, and would love to hear about your experiences seeking treatment for menopause symptoms? Here's the link to the article about it: https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/acog/121088.

(Also, to be absolutely clear, nothing anyone says will be used in reporting without permission. Truly just want to connect!)