Hormone replacement therapy use and menopausal symptoms among women participating in a behavioral lifestyle intervention

Background. The decision to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a cho ice many women encounter when entering menopause. The purpose of this study was to examine the choice to take HRT while participating in a lifestyle i ntervention to reduce cardiovascular risk through the menopause. Methods. The Women's Healthy Lifestyle Project is a randomized clinical tri al designed to examine whether a behavioral lifestyle intervention can decr ease the expected rise in cardiovascular risk through the menopause. Partic ipants (N = 535) completed questionnaires and were interviewed regarding me nopausal symptoms, menopausal status, hot flashes, and HRT use at baseline and 54 months. Results. The intervention was successful in preventing risk elevation throu gh the 54-month visit. At the final visit, there was no difference between the intervention and control groups in the percentage who had become postme nopausal (32.9% vs 35.0%, respectively), there was no difference between co ntrol and intervention with HRT use, with 31.2% reporting use of HRT, and t here was no difference between groups with menopausal symptoms. The women s tarted HRT an average of 6 months after they missed a period. Baseline risk factors did not predict HRT use at the 54-month visit. Conclusions. A sizable number of women reported HRT use. The decision to us e HRT was not influenced by the lifestyle intervention or their baseline ca rdiovascular risk, and these women started HRT very early in the peri- to p ostmenopause. Further, weight loss in the perimenopause did not affect meno pausal symptoms. (C) 2001 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.