Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32469976›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2020

"I'm going to stay young":  Belief in anti-aging efficacy of menopausal hormone therapy drives prolonged use despite medical risks.

Mary M Hunter, Alison J Huang, Margaret I Wallhagen

Abstract readClinical TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Mary M HunterDepartment of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-2445-2648
Alison J HuangDepartment of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
Margaret I WallhagenDepartment of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.

Funding

Hormone Therapy Decision Making in Older WomenF31NR015170 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI HUNTER, MARY MACWILLIAMS · 2015 to 2017
$105k
NINR NIH HHS F31 NR015170
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOver a third of menopausal hormone therapy (HT) prescriptions in the US are written for women over age 60. Use of HT more than 5 years is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease; breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers; thromboembolic stroke; gallbladder disease; dementia; and incontinence.

objectivesTo explore older women's perceptions of the benefits and risks of long-term HT and examine factors influencing their decisions to use HT > 5 years despite medical risks.

methodsA qualitative approach was selected to broadly explore thought processes and social phenomena underlying long-term users' decisions not to discontinue HT. Interviews were conducted with 30 women over age 60 reporting use of systemic HT more than 5 years recruited from an urban area in California and a small city in the Rocky Mountain region. Transcripts of interviews were analyzed using conventional grounded theory methods.

resultsWomen reported using HT to preserve youthful physical and mental function and prevent disease. Gynecologists had reassured participants regarding risk, about which all 30 expressed little concern. Participants, rather than providers, were the principal drivers of long-term use.

conclusionsParticipants perceived estrogen to have anti-aging efficacy, and using HT imparted a sense of control over various aspects of aging. Maintaining this sense of control was prioritized over potential risk from prolonged use. Our findings provide an additional perspective on previous work suggesting the pharmaceutical industry has leveraged older women's self-esteem, vanity, and fear of aging to sell hormones through marketing practices designed to shape the beliefs of both clinicians and patients. Efforts are needed to: 1) address misconceptions among patients and providers about medically supported uses and risks of prolonged HT, and 2) examine commercial influences, such as medical ghostwriting, that may lead to distorted views of HT efficacy and risk.

Indexed as

Estrogen Replacement TherapyAgedAged, 80 and overAgingCardiovascular DiseasesCultureFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPostmenopause

Identifiers

PMID32469976
PMCPMC7259599

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.