Socioeconomic Position and Hormone Replacement Therapy Use: Explaining the Discrepancy in Evidence From Observational and Randomized Controlled Trials
Debbie A Lawlor, PhD, MSc, MBChB,
George Davey Smith, DSc, MD and
Shah Ebrahim, DM, MSc
The authors are with the Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Debbie A. Lawlor, PhD, MSc, MBChB, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS7 8QA, United Kingdom (email: d.a.lawlor{at}bristol.ac.uk).
Objectives. We assessed the association between life-coursesocioeconomic status or position (SEP) and hormone replacementtherapy (HRT).
Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 4286 womenaged 60 to 79 years.
Results. Women experiencing adverse socioeconomic circumstancesacross the life course were less likely to have used HRT. Theassociations of childhood socioeconomic measures with HRT usewere independent of adult SEP, behavioral risk factors, andphysiological risk factors for heart disease.
Conclusions. SEP from across the life course is associated withHRT use. Because the association between early life SEP andHRT is not fully explained by adult risk factors, residual confounding(which is not captured by adjustment for adult variables only)may explain some of the disparity between observational studiesand randomized controlled trials in this area.
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