WHI follow-up study: Risks of long-term hormone therapy continue to outweigh benefits
Mar 4, 2008 - 5:00:00 AM
|
|
|
The follow-up study began in July 2002 after women in the study were instructed to stop taking combination hormone therapy, and continued through March 2005, with participants followed for an average of 2.4 years. All study participants were examined at least once a year by a WHI clinician and received an annual breast examination and mammogram, with biopsies performed as needed. During the follow-up study, the numbers of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots were not significantly different between the two groups (overall, 343 cardiovascular events among those who initially received hormone therapy versus 323 among those who did not). In addition, the number of deaths was not significantly different (233 women who had been in the hormone therapy group died, versus 196 women who had been in the placebo group).
|
By NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
[RxPG]
New results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that the health risks of long-term use of combination (estrogen plus progestin) hormone therapy in healthy, postmenopausal women persist even a few years after stopping the drugs and clearly outweigh the benefits. Researchers report that about three years after women stopped taking combination hormone therapy, many of the health effects of hormones such as increased risk of heart disease are diminished, but overall risks, including risks of stroke, blood clots, and cancer, remain high. The WHI is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Results of the WHI three-year follow-up study of the estrogen-plus-progestin clinical trial are published in the March 5, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The good news is that after women stop taking combination hormone therapy, their risk of heart disease appears to decrease, noted Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., NHLBI director. However, these findings also indicate that women who take estrogen plus progestin continue to be at increased risk of breast cancer, even years after stopping therapy. Today's report confirms the study's primary conclusion that combination hormone therapy should not be used to prevent disease in healthy, postmenopausal women.
The FDA recommends that hormone therapy never be used to prevent heart disease, and, when hormone therapy is used for menopausal symptoms, it should only be taken at the smallest dose and for the shortest time possible.
The new findings are from a follow-up study of 15,730 postmenopausal women with an intact uterus, ages 50 to 79 years (average age of 63) at enrollment, who participated in the WHI estrogen-plus-progestin clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a combination of estrogen (0.625 milligrams of conjugated equine estrogens per day) plus progestin (2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate) or placebo (inactive pill). The main estrogen-plus-progestin study was stopped in 2002 after an average of 5.6 years of treatment due to an increase in breast cancer. Women on combination hormone therapy were also at increased risk of stroke, blood clots, and heart disease, while their risk of colorectal cancer and hip fractures was lower, compared to women who did not take hormone therapy.
The follow-up study began in July 2002 after women in the study were instructed to stop taking combination hormone therapy, and continued through March 2005, with participants followed for an average of 2.4 years. All study participants were examined at least once a year by a WHI clinician and received an annual breast examination and mammogram, with biopsies performed as needed. During the follow-up study, the numbers of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots were not significantly different between the two groups (overall, 343 cardiovascular events among those who initially received hormone therapy versus 323 among those who did not). In addition, the number of deaths was not significantly different (233 women who had been in the hormone therapy group died, versus 196 women who had been in the placebo group).
Advertise in this space for $10 per month.
Contact us today.
|
 |
Related Latest Research News
|
|
Subscribe to Latest Research Newsletter
|
|
|
|
Feedback
|
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send
any medical news or health news press releases, use
feedback form
|
Top of Page
|
