Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is a silent public health issue, impacting health and quality of life of millions of women across the globe. Diagnosis and treatment are often delayed, with up to 54% of women with HMB never receiving either. To address this, a two-day study-a-thon was held with eleven EHDEN Data Partners (DPs) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 11-12 December 2023. More than 350 million anonymous health data records were analysed for this study.
The primary objectives of the study were to:
- Characterise women of reproductive age diagnosed with HMB (demographics, parity and reproductive history, comorbidities, comedications and procedures).
- Describe treatment pathways of women of reproductive age diagnosed with HMB across different countries and data sources (duration of use, switch to other treatments).
Secondary objectives of the study included describing both the incidence and proportion of women diagnosed with HMB (calendar year over study period: 2000-2020), and the country-specific, guideline-compliant treatment use where national treatment guidelines are available for HMB.
Specifically for the study-a-thon, objectives were to:
- Discuss the interpretation of the results and the key messages.
- Provide a holistic interpretation of the results, including understanding of the key characteristics of the DPs and how these affect the interpretability of the results.
- Strengthen knowledge-sharing between more experienced DPs and DPs for which this was the first study using their data converted to the OMOP-Common Data Model.
"HMB is still a longstanding and overlooked condition. We expect the final results will help raise HMB awareness and improve treatment for patients. We’re confident it will serve to reinforce the value of collaborative efforts in addressing women's health issues globally."
Marta Pineda Moncusi
“This study aimed to improve the understanding of HMB using real world data from different countries across a broad spectrum of healthcare settings. The study-a-thon was well attended and proved to be an effective and time-saving way to enhance and facilitate the exchange of knowledge from different expertise areas."