News Review From Harvard Medical School — More Details in Long-Term Hormone Study

October 2, 2013

News Review From Harvard Medical School -- More Details in Long-Term Hormone Study

Results of a new, longer-term study confirm that women should not take hormone replacement therapy to reduce any disease risk after menopause. But short-term treatment for menopause symptoms seems to be safe. The new results are consistent with advice doctors have been giving for about a decade. The new study is a follow-up to the Women's Health Initiative. That study changed medical practice when it was published in 2002. The study was stopped early when it found that women who were randomly assigned to take estrogen and progestin had higher risks of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots. They were compared with women taking placebo (fake) pills. A study of women taking estrogen alone found a slightly higher risk of blood clots and stroke. The new study looked at the women's health after 13 years. It clarified some risks for younger women in the study, those ages 50 to 59. Younger women who were in the estrogen-only study had a slightly lower rate of heart attack and fewer deaths than women who took placebo pills. But blood-clot rates were higher for women of all ages. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it October 1.

By Howard LeWine, M.D.Harvard Medical School

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

This time the findings of a new study are consistent with prior advice. Short-term hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause works with minimal risks. The benefits of long-term use to prevent heart disease and other conditions remain questionable at best. For most women, the risks outweigh the benefits.

Those are the findings of the latest analysis from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). But there is more to learn from this new report. Not all menopausal hormone therapy is the same. The medicine used in the WHI study contained both conjugated estrogen and a progestin (Prempro). Women who had a prior hysterectomy took conjugated estrogen alone.

Excerpt from:
News Review From Harvard Medical School -- More Details in Long-Term Hormone Study