Menopausal women could be left without ‘life-changing’ HRT medication due to coronavirus demand

‘Most of the women who are using HRT have very severe symptoms and it has a life-changing impact on their quality of life. We need to make sure there is that continuity of supply,’ says GP

Women going through the menopause could be left without “life-changing” medication due to demand for hormone replacement therapy surging after research shows it could protect against coronavirus.

The majority of the 3.4 million women between 50 and 64 in the UK will experience symptoms of the menopause.

These include heart palpitations, hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, headaches, vaginal dryness and pain, a reduced sex drive, and recurrent urinary tract infections, as well as anxiety, mood changes, feelings of sadness, difficulty concentrating and issues with memory.

A study by NHS England and King’s College is currently looking at whether women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have less severe symptoms of coronavirus after scientists in Wuhan, China, discovered women with lower levels of oestrogen typically experienced worse consequences from the virus. HRT replaces the oestrogen the body stops producing during menopause.

The research, set to be published in the next few weeks, aims to work out why men have been more likely to have serious complications from coronavirus.

Dr Louise Newson, who is involved in the Covid Symptom Study, which studies an app that now tracks more than three million people across Britain, told The Independent demand for HRT could surge if the research is found to definitely be true due to there already being an HRT shortage that predates the coronavirus emergency.

The GP, who is a menopause specialist, said: “There would be increased demand. The research is looking to see whether menopausal women are more likely to be hospitalised or have severe symptoms from coronavirus. We know oestrogen boosts immunity. Also, if you don’t replace your oestrogen during the menopause, women have an increase in the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia and diabetes.”

HRT medication has become increasingly difficult to get hold of since the end of 2018, when supply issues that started in China forced some manufacturers to stop producing HRT patches. This led to increased demand for alternatives, which subsequently then also became scarce.

Alistair Murray, who has been a pharmacist for 20 years, warned the coronavirus crisis could greatly worsen HRT shortages.

Mr Murray, who leads on pharmacy at an NHS app called Echo, which provides patients with prescriptions, said: “If HRT were to be recommended then it would end up putting much worse pressure on HRT supplies. You would suddenly massively increase demand without having increased supply. It would have a major impact on the ability to prescribe it for menopausal women. They would potentially have to go without.

“Most of the women who are using HRT have very severe symptoms and it has a life-changing impact on their quality of life. We need to make sure there is that continuity of supply. Ten to 20 per cent of women who have symptoms of menopause get HRT. Those who don’t mainly don’t because of choice, but for a minority, it is because of an inability to access it because of shortages. The HRT shortage has been very challenging for a good two or three years because Chinese factories where oestrogen is made for the HRT have gone out of business and shut down.

“Pressures around HRT supply have got worse during the coronavirus crisis. Workloads have at least doubled at every single pharmacy across the board in the UK due to the Covid-19 crisis. It is not necessarily that there are double as many prescriptions, but that there is now a much more complicated way of serving patients. So now it is more difficult to chase dwindling stocks of HRT.”

He drew attention to the fact people with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus have been struggling to get their hands on hydroxychloroquine after Donald Trump touted it as being a miracle remedy to coronavirus, despite the fact it has not been proved to help treat the virus or be safe – adding that these same shortages could potentially occur with HRT.