[Hormone replacement therapy among Norwegian women. Self-reported use and sales of estrogen preparations]

In order to analyse the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the predicting factors for its use, two random samples of Norwegian women (30-79 years) were interviewed by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 1994 (n = 565) and in 1996 (n = 470). The extent of use of HRT was compared with statistics for sales of oestrogen in Norway and the Nordic countries. In the age group 45-69 years the use of hormone replacement therapy increased from 16.3% in 1994 to 19.1% in 1996. The proportion of users did not increase with a higher level of education. In addition to information received, and after adjusting for other variables, attitudes towards oestrogen and knowledge about it were the most important contributing factors for using HRT. Sales figures show that the use of systemic oestrogen in Norway has increased more than 280% since 1990. None of the Nordic countries have had a corresponding increase, but the Norwegian figures are still low compared to most other Nordic countries. In 1996 14.5% of Norwegian women (50-79 years) used oestrogen for urogenital disorders. Norwegian women need to be better informed and more knowledgeable to enable them to make conscious choice regarding use of hormone replacement therapy.