1.7% on HRT
Only 1.7% of women who should be offered hormone therapy prescriptions are actually receiving them, according to Dr Rachel Rubin.
Snapshot · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Dr Rachel Rubin: Women’s Sexual Health, Menopause, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and Orgasms!
Explore episode
Jun 22, 2026
Where this was said
Why HRT Got A Bad Reputation
At 29:29 · chapter starts 27:27
The Women's Health Initiative study was misinterpreted at a 2003 press conference, crashing HRT prescriptions overnight. The same authors published in 2025 that risks below age 70 were overstated. [1] — Dr Rachel Rubin "In the early 2000s, a major NIH study was stopped early and a press conference announced that hormone therapy causes cardiovascular disease…" 27:27
The Women's Health Initiative Disaster Explained
In the early 2000s, a major NIH study was stopped early and a press conference announced that hormone therapy causes cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. Overnight, prescriptions crashed. The same authors published in 2025 that below age 70, that therapy had no increased risk of either. Only 1.7% of eligible women now receive HRT — a generation of doctors never learned how to prescribe it.
The Four Buckets of Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy falls into four categories: whole-body estrogen (hot flashes, bone loss, brain health), progesterone (uterine protection, sleep, anxiety), testosterone (libido, orgasm, body image), and vaginal hormones (local estrogen or DHEA for UTIs, pain, dryness). Understanding which bucket you need changes everything about how you approach treatment.
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