Burden of illness of hypertension among women using menopausal hormone therapy: a US perspective

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Published on: August 13, 2019

Kevin Hawkins1, Rajeshwari Mittapally, Joanne Chang

  • 1IMS Health, Falls Church, VA, USA.

Current Medical Research and Opinion
|November 10, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Hypertension significantly increases healthcare costs for women using menopausal hormone therapy (HT). The annual burden of illness for hypertension in this group is substantial, averaging $2948 per person.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Health Economics

Background:

  • Menopausal hormone therapy (HT) is commonly used by women.
  • Hypertension is a prevalent comorbidity in the general population.
  • Understanding the health economic impact of comorbidities in HT users is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the burden of illness (BOI) associated with hypertension in women undergoing menopausal hormone therapy (HT).
  • To quantify the difference in healthcare expenditures between hypertensive and non-hypertensive HT users.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study using the PharMetrics database (July 2003 - June 2005).
  • Inclusion of patients with at least one menopausal HT prescription.
  • Propensity score matching to compare hypertensive and non-hypertensive HT cohorts based on demographics, comorbidities, and HT type.

Main Results:

  • Hypertension was the most frequent comorbidity (34%) in the menopausal HT cohort.
  • Hypertensive HT users (n=106,729) incurred significantly higher annual healthcare costs ($8908) than non-hypertensive users ($5960).
  • The average annual BOI of hypertension was $2948 per person (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

  • Hypertension is the leading comorbidity among menopausal HT users in the US.
  • The economic burden of hypertension in this population is substantial and statistically significant.
  • Findings highlight the importance of managing hypertension in women using menopausal hormone therapy.
Abstract

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