Hormone replacement therapy is safe and effective after all

November 14, 2017- Interviewed by Steven E. Greer, MD

We interviewed JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH about her JAMA paper that followed the cohorts in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) for the full time period that was original planned. The original study was stopped early due to concerns that estrogen and progesterone replacement therapies increased mortality. However, early stoppage of trials quite often produces misleading deltas in Kaplan curves.

When Dr. Manson, et al re-analyzed the data after the longer period of follow-up, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was not only safe, but trended toward reducing mortality.

Since 2002, most women have been taken off of HRT due to the erroneous data from the early stoppage of the WHI. This study could reverse that.

Estrogen in post-menopausal women is very important to the quality of life. It is more than simply reducing hot flashes. The skin stays thick and youthful. Muscle mass is retained, thus preventing fat deposition or obesity, sexual desire and overall energy are maintained, bone health is improved, etc.

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