STUDY OF GENERAL-PRACTICE CONSULTATIONS AND MENOPAUSAL PROBLEMS

Objective-To investigate the nature of work related to the menopause in general practice. Design-Questionnaire study over six months among general practitioners after each consultation with a woman aged 40-69 at which issues related to the climacteric had been discussed. Setting-9 General practices in the Oxford area. Subjects-416 Women who had 572 consultations. Main outcome measures-Age, menopausal state, and first or subsequent consultation. Symptoms were classified together with the treatment and the outcome of the consultation. Results-The consultation rate varied greatly between practices, the overall rate being 4.4%. There were many premenopausal women and women in their 60s presenting; women with hysterectomies presented more often-36% (37/103) of women with hysterectomies had more than one consultation compared with 26% (38/144) for premenopausal women and 24% (38/155) for postmenopausal women. 409 women had symptoms and 218 were prescribed oestrogen treatment. 156 of the consultations involved discussion and advice only. Only four women were referred to a local specialist clinic. Conclusion-There is a low overall use of hormone replacement therapy in the general postmenopausal population despite the recent media coverage of its benefits in the prevention of osteoporosis and subsequent fractures.