Personality and hormone therapy use among postmenopausal women in the GAZEL cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To examine with a prospective design the association of personality with hormone therapy (HT) use before and after the publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial.

DESIGN

Questionnaires were mailed to measure type A personality and hostility. Additional data from up to six mailed questionnaires every 3 years were used to determine the subsequent date of menopause and the use of HT. The association between personality and HT use was measured by the relative index of inequality computed through binary logistic regression.

SETTING

The French GAZEL Cohort Study.

PATIENT(S): Women (n = 1,803) who reached natural menopause during the study.

INTERVENTION(S): None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Hormone therapy use within 1 year after the date of menopause.

RESULT(S): Hormone therapy use (916 users vs. 887 nonusers) was associated with type A personality (relative index of inequality = 1.88, 95% confidence interval = 1.35-2.63). This association remained significant after adjustment for all potential confounders (relative index of inequality = 1.84, 95% confidence interval = 1.23-2.74). There was no significant interaction between type A personality and the date of menopause as regards the WHI publication.

CONCLUSION(S): Type A personality may be associated with HT use among postmenopausal women, regardless of other predictors, including vascular and breast cancer risk factors.