Clinical correlates of estrogen replacement therapy use and duration of use among medicaid recipients

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is used not only for the short-term control of menopausal symptoms but long-term for disease prevention. This study examined the influence of selected clinical conditions on the use of ERT and the duration of ERT use among women enrolled in a state Medicaid program. We identified 60,531 women, aged >/=45 years, who were enrolled in Maryland Medicaid continuously for at least 2 of 3 years. ERT use was determined through prescription claims submitted for reimbursement. The presence or risk of selected clinical conditions (e.g., osteoporosis, heart disease, estrogen-sensitive cancers) was determined by screening Medicaid claims files for related diagnoses, procedures, or prescription claims. Multiple logistic regression was used to model ERT use, and proportional hazards regression was used to model duration of use. Fourteen percent of these women filled an ERT prescription, with use varying by age, race, and place of residence. Oral dosage forms were the most popular (80.8%), followed by vaginal cream or ring (22.2%), and transdermal patch (7.3%). In adjusted models, osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, ovarian cancer, and thromboembolic disease were positively associated and dementia and breast cancer were negatively associated with ERT use. None of these medical conditions predicted the duration of estrogen therapy. Use of ERT was very low among these women despite coverage of prescription medications, and the presence of clinical indications had no influence on the length of therapy among these women despite known benefits for long-term preventive therapy.