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Research

Socioeconomic status and HRT prescribing: a study of practice-level data in England

Sarah Hillman, Saran Shantikumar, Ali Ridha, Dan Todkill and Jeremy Dale
British Journal of General Practice 2020; 70 (700): e772-e777. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp20X713045
Sarah Hillman
Unit of Academic Primary Care;
Roles: Clinical lecturer in primary care
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Saran Shantikumar
National Institute for Health Research clinical lecturer and registrar in public health;
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Ali Ridha
University of Warwick, Coventry.
Roles: Medical student
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Dan Todkill
Communicable Disease Control Evidence & Epidemiology;
Roles: Consultant clinical lecturer
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Jeremy Dale
Unit of Academic Primary Care;
Roles: Professor of primary care
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Abstract

Background Concerns have been raised that women from deprived backgrounds are less likely to be receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) treatment and its benefits, although evidence in support of this is lacking.

Aim To investigate general practice HRT prescription trends and their association with markers of socioeconomic deprivation.

Design and setting Cross-sectional study of primary care prescribing data in England in 2018.

Method Practice-level prescribing rate was defined as the number of items of HRT prescribed per 1000 registered female patients aged ≥40 years. The association between Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) score and HRT prescribing rate was tested using multivariate Poisson regression, adjusting for practice proportions of obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, and practice list size.

Results The overall prescribing rate of HRT was 29% lower in practices from the most deprived quintile compared with the most affluent (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.68 to 0.73). After adjusting for all cardiovascular disease outcomes and risk factors, the prescribing rate in the most deprived quintile was still 18% lower than in the least deprived quintile (adjusted IRR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.77 to 0.86). In more deprived practices, there was a significantly higher tendency to prescribe oral HRT than transdermal preparations (P<0.001).

Conclusion This study highlights inequalities associated with HRT prescription. This may reflect a large unmet need in terms of menopause care in areas of deprivation. Further research is needed to identify the factors from patient and GP perspectives that may explain this.

  • cross-sectional studies
  • female
  • general practice
  • hormone replacement therapy
  • menopause
  • prescribing
  • Received February 19, 2020.
  • Revision requested March 23, 2020.
  • Accepted May 7, 2020.
  • © British Journal of General Practice 2020
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British Journal of General Practice: 70 (700)
British Journal of General Practice
Vol. 70, Issue 700
November 2020
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Socioeconomic status and HRT prescribing: a study of practice-level data in England
Sarah Hillman, Saran Shantikumar, Ali Ridha, Dan Todkill, Jeremy Dale
British Journal of General Practice 2020; 70 (700): e772-e777. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp20X713045

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Socioeconomic status and HRT prescribing: a study of practice-level data in England
Sarah Hillman, Saran Shantikumar, Ali Ridha, Dan Todkill, Jeremy Dale
British Journal of General Practice 2020; 70 (700): e772-e777. DOI: 10.3399/bjgp20X713045
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Keywords

  • cross-sectional studies
  • female
  • general practice
  • hormone replacement therapy
  • menopause
  • prescribing

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  • Inequalities in health-related quality of life: repeated cross-sectional study of trends in general practice survey data
  • Natural history of non-bullous impetigo: a systematic review of time to resolution or improvement without antibiotic treatment
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