Hormones for therapy of climacteric afflictions.

Background: In Western countries hormone replacement therapy (HT) is widely used in the treatment of climacteric women who are affected with hot flashes and night sweats. Besides, long-term HT was frequently used to manage the higher risks for osteoporosis and heart attack in postmenopause. Estrogens alone or combined with progestin feature most frequently in HT.

Objectives: This HTA report addresses the questions on medical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of HT as a treatment of hot flashes and night sweats as well as in the primary prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in postmenopause in general healthy women.

Methods: The literature search for articles published after 1998 was conducted in March 2004 in standard medical and economic databases. The analysis included randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and economic evaluations considering relevant clinical endpoints in English or German language. The quality of the studies was assessed using checklists corresponding to the study type.

Results: HT is highly effective in treating hot flashes in climacteric women. The question of economical efficiency cannot be answered due to the scarce database. As the positive effects (lower risk for fractures and endometrial cancer) do not outweigh the negative effects (higher risk for breast cancer and general cardiovascular risk) estrogen-progestin combination HT cannot be recommended for primary prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Discussion: The observation period of most of the studies regarding therapy of hot flashes and night sweats were too short to evaluate possible risks of long-term HT. The economic publications assessing HT for this indication varied vastly in terms of applied methods and were not carried out with respect to the German health care system.

Conclusions: HT can be recommended in the short-term treatment of hot flashes and night sweats in climacteric women. To explore the economic effects of HT for this indication for Germany, studies constructed with respect to the German health care system are desirable.