Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore symptoms, knowledge levels, perceptions, and use related to menopause and hormone therapy (HT) and to examine the factors associated with HT use and HT perceptions in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a sample of 98 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who aged 50-79 and participated in the Sex, ApoE-4, γ-aminobutyric acid, and Episodic memory (SAGE) study (M (age) = 64.24, standard deviation = 7.49). We applied a series of bivariate Firth logistic regressions to examine the associations of each variable of interest with hormone therapy (HT) use and perceptions. RESULTS: Overall, 89.90% reported positive perceptions of menopause, and 85.71% had positive perceptions of HT. One-third (32.65%) of the sample had used HT. Hot flashes (72.4%) were the most reported menopausal symptom. Logistic regression analyses showed that age, race/ethnicity, current drinking status, menopausal knowledge levels, and vasomotor and genitourinary symptoms were significantly associated with HT use, while race/ethnicity, current drinking status, menopausal knowledge levels, and genitourinary symptoms were also linked to positive HT perceptions. Hispanic participants reported lower menopausal knowledge, less positive HT perceptions, and lower HT use. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of women in the SAGE cohort reported positive perceptions of both menopause and HT. Race/ethnicity, along with current drinking status, menopausal knowledge levels, and genitourinary symptoms, were consistently associated with both HT use and HT perceptions. Ethnic differences in menopausal knowledge levels, HT perceptions, and HT use are also discussed.