It ’s not gonna’ kill you to take hormone replacement

It’s not going to kill you to take hormone replacement therapy. That’s the take home message from the latest analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative, the largest and longest randomized trial of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopausal women. After almost 18 years of follow up in the WHI, there was no increase in overall mortality, including death rates from cancer, in women taking HRT for up to 5.6 years (estrogen plus progestin) or 7.2 years (estrogen alone). There was a non-significant reduction in mortality among those who started HRT between ages 50 and 59, the group most likely to be prescribed hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms. I’ve blogged before about the results and limitations of the WHI, which found, on balance, that the health risks of HRT (breast cancer, blood clots, stroke) about equaled its health benefits (protection against colon cancer and osteoporosis) in women staring HRT on average 10 years after the onset of menopause. The study (and the US Preventive Services Task Force) concluded that there was no reason for women to take HRT for preventive health reasons. The biggest criticism of the WHI was that it did not include women most likely to benefit from taking HRT – those with hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and other menopausal symptoms. These women start HRT at menopause, not 10 years after it’s over. In this younger group, more recent research suggests there may be a reduction in heart disease ris...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Hormone Replacement Menopause WHI breast cancer estrogen HRT Prempro Source Type: blogs