THE PREVALENCE OF HYSTERECTOMY IN SOUTH-AUSTRALIA

Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of hysterectomy in the South Au stralian community. Design and setting: Data were collected as part of the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey which involved a self-weig hting, multistage, systematic, representative area cluster sample of 4 608 households in metropolitan and country South Australia. One thousa nd and forty-seven women over the age of 40 were personally interviewe d by trained data collectors. Outcome measures: Demographic characteri stics, selected medical descriptive variables and the prevalence of hy sterectomy. Results: 27.9% of the respondents over 40 had undergone a hysterectomy. The prevalence rose from 18.9% in the 40-44 age group to 31.4% in women aged between 55 and 64 years. There were no statistica lly significant associations with country of birth, educational attain ment or income. Significantly more women who had undergone a hysterect omy were current or past users of oestrogen replacement therapy and th ey also visited their general practitioner more frequently. Elevated b ody mass index and the prevalence of diabetes also approached statisti cal significance. Conclusion: At current rates nearly a third of South Australian women will have a hysterectomy during their lifetime.