An initial study by the Women’s Health Initiative claimed that hormonal therapy, generally adopted by women to reduce the severe symptoms of menopause, has severe side effects.
Meanwhile, the study’s follow-up revealed that women who underwent hormone therapy had a more favorable benefit-to-risk ratio than women in menopause.
The study tracked the health of more than 160,000 postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 79, from 1993 to 1998. They were followed for up to 20 years.
The findings, initially released in 2002, suggested that women undergoing hormone therapy had an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and urinary incontinence. Following this, many women discontinued the therapy.
However, later it was discovered that the results might have been skewed due to the involvement of a large population of older women in the study.
“The WHI findings should never be used as a reason to deny hormone therapy to women in early menopause with bothersome menopausal symptoms. Many women are good candidates for treatment and, in shared decision-making with their clinicians, should be able to receive appropriate and personalized healthcare for their needs,” said JoAnn Manson, M.D., Chief of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and first author of the study.
The 20-year follow-up study, published in JAMA Women’s Health, found that hormone therapy has not increased the mortality rate in menopausal women compared to the placebo group.
“Among women below the age of 60, we found hormone therapy has a low risk of adverse events and is safe for treating bothersome hot flashes, night sweats and other menopausal symptoms, ” Manson added.
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