Treatments in women experiencing natural menopause: a cohort study from the USA, the UK and Germany

Authors

Mariam Saadedine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Victoria Banks, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer Plc, Reading, UK.
Carina Dinkel-Keuthage, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.
Cecilia Caetano, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.
George Argyriou, Odysseus Data Services, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Carsten Moeller, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.
Nils Schoof, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.
David Vizcaya, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Sant Joan Despi, Barcelona, Spain.
Maja Francuski, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany.
Asieh Golozar, Odysseus Data Services, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Thomas Römer, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital, Cologne, Germany.
Ali Kubba, Department of Gynaecology, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

7-30-2025

Journal

Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society

DOI

10.1080/13697137.2025.2530466

Keywords

Natural menopause; antidepressants; benzodiazepines; cohort; database; hormone therapy; treatment continuation; treatments

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe treatment patterns among naturally menopausal women from the USA, the UK and Germany. METHODS: Using health claims (the USA) and electronic health records (the UK and Germany), women aged 40-65 years with a first record of natural menopause (index date) from 2009 to 2022 were identified. Women with a history of bilateral oophorectomy, total hysterectomy, endocrine therapy for breast cancer or hormone/non-hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms were excluded. Treatments evaluated following the index date were hormone therapy, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and the antihypertensive clonidine. RESULTS: In total, 1,260,742 (the USA), 214,374 (the UK) and 124,542 (Germany) women were included, and treatments were recorded in 38.8%, 33.4% and 28.8%, respectively. Among these, the majority received one treatment class, mostly hormone therapy (44.2% for the USA, 41.1% for the UK, 92.6% for Germany), benzodiazepines (25.3% for the USA, 6.8% for the UK, 2.2% for Germany) and antidepressants (18.6% for the USA, 33.5% for the UK, 4.1% for Germany). Discontinuation rates at 6 months from starting initial treatment were 75.0-88.0% for hormone therapy, 65.0-85.0% for antidepressants and ≥98% for benzodiazepines. Treatment switches occurred in 25.4% (the USA), 21.8% (the UK) and 1.7% (Germany). CONCLUSIONS: Continuation rates with current treatments for women experiencing natural menopausal symptoms are low, indicating an unmet need for effective and acceptable therapies.

APA Citation

Saadedine, Mariam; Banks, Victoria; Dinkel-Keuthage, Carina; Caetano, Cecilia; Argyriou, George; Moeller, Carsten; Schoof, Nils; Vizcaya, David; Francuski, Maja; Golozar, Asieh; Römer, Thomas; and Kubba, Ali, "Treatments in women experiencing natural menopause: a cohort study from the USA, the UK and Germany" (2025). GW Authored Works. Paper 7537.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/7537

Department

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Resident Works