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Previously, the REDLINC VI study showed that the main reason for the low use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) was its low rate of prescription by doctors.To determine the use of MHT and perceived related risks among gynecologists.A self-administered and anonymous questionnaire was delivered to certified gynecologists in 11 Latin American countries.A total of 2154 gynecologists were contacted, of whom 85.3% responded to the survey (n = 1837). Mean age was 48.1 ± 11.4 years; 55.5% were male, 20.3% were faculty members and 85% had a partner. Overall, 85.4% of gynecologists responded that they would use MHT if they had menopausal symptoms (81.8% in the case of female gynecologists) or prescribe it to their partner (88.2% in the case of male gynecologists; p0.001). Perceived risk related to MHT use (on a scale from 0 to 10) was higher among female than among male gynecologists (4.06 ± 2.09 vs. 3.83 ± 2.11, p0.02). The top two perceived reported risks were thromboembolism (women 33.6% vs. men 41.4%, p0.009) and breast cancer (women 38.5% vs. men 33.9%, p0.03). Overall, gynecologists reported prescribing MHT to 48.9% of their symptomatic patients (women 47.3% vs. men 50.2%, p0.03) and 86.8% currently prescribed non-hormonal remedies and 83.8% alternative therapies for the management of the menopause. Gynecologists who were older and academic professionals prescribed MHT more often.Although this Latin American survey showed that gynecologists are mostly supporters of MHT use (for themselves or their partners), this is not necessarily reflected in their clinical practice.

Musculoskeletal pain (MSP) has been recently linked with high plasma leptin levels. Our objective was to study if obese women, who have higher leptin levels, could have a higher frequency of MSP. We studied 6079 Latin-American women, 40-59 years old. Their epidemiological data were recorded and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), Golberg Anxiety and Depression Scale and Insomnia Scale were applied. MSP was defined as a score ≥2 on MRS11. Women with MSP were slightly older, had fewer years of schooling and were more sedentary. They also complained of more severe menopausal symptoms (29.2% versus. 4.4%, p 0.0001). Furthermore, they had a higher abdominal perimeter (87.2 ± 12.0 cm versus 84.6 ± 11.6 cm, p 0.0001) and a higher prevalence of obesity (23.1% versus 15.2%, p 0.0001). Compared to normal weight women, those with low body weight (IMC 18.5) showed a lower risk of MSP (OR 0.71; 95%CI, 0.42-1.17), overweight women had a higher risk (OR 1.64; 95%CI, 1.44-1.87) and obese women the highest risk (OR 2.06; 95%CI, 1.76-2.40). Logistic regression analysis showed that obesity is independently associated to MSP (OR 1.34; 95%CI, 1.16-1.55). We conclude that obesity is one identifiable risk factor for MSP in middle-aged women.