Higher vaginal estrogenization was prevalent across all age groups and with no decline in age compared to 1960s clinical data, according to a recent study that examined the prevalence and correlates of vaginal estrogenization in postmenopausal women in the US. Using a US national probability sample of 868 postmenopausal women aged 57 to 85 years, epithelial maturation value (MV) generated from self-collected vaginal specimens were calculated and the findings compared with historical clinical data. Researchers found:

• In every age group, vaginal estrogenization was higher among postmenopausal nonusers of HT in the 2005-2006 US cohort than reported for the 1960s Canadian clinical cohort.
• MV was also higher among women who used postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) in the prior 12 months vs those who did not.
• The strongest independent correlates were current HT use, obesity, and African American race.
• Half of all women exhibit low vaginal estrogenization postmenopause.