The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, published several years ago, introduced anxiety and concern in the minds of many women and their physicians about the safety of replacement estrogens.
December 1, 2006 (Press Release) --
The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, published several years ago, introduced anxiety and concern in the minds of many women and their physicians about the safety of replacement estrogens.
A more detailed analysis of the WHI data demonstrated that the study participants were disproportionately older and had never before taken replacement hormones. This made the results of questionable relevance for most postmenopausal women. Still, doubt and concern remain.
To avoid taking hormones and reduce any potential risks, menopausal women are now taking a range of other drugs. They include antidepressants for hot flashes, medications for sleep problems, biophosphonates for bone loss and osteoporosis, and non-steroidal ant-inflammatory drugs for aches and pains.
All of these drugs can have serious side effects of their own. No one knows the compounded risk for a woman taking multiple drugs from two or three of these drug classes simultaneously.
Many experts now consider the WHI study seriously flawed, especially in the face of over a dozen previous studies that showed that replacement estrogens protected the hearts of menopausal women.
It may be time for menopausal women suffering from serious discomfort to revisit this issue with their physicians. It makes little sense for them to endure unknown risks from taking multiple drugs in an effort to get relief and protect themselves from risks that are, in fact, a false impression left by a poorly designed study.
source: http://health.yahoo.com/
A more detailed analysis of the WHI data demonstrated that the study participants were disproportionately older and had never before taken replacement hormones. This made the results of questionable relevance for most postmenopausal women. Still, doubt and concern remain.
To avoid taking hormones and reduce any potential risks, menopausal women are now taking a range of other drugs. They include antidepressants for hot flashes, medications for sleep problems, biophosphonates for bone loss and osteoporosis, and non-steroidal ant-inflammatory drugs for aches and pains.
All of these drugs can have serious side effects of their own. No one knows the compounded risk for a woman taking multiple drugs from two or three of these drug classes simultaneously.
Many experts now consider the WHI study seriously flawed, especially in the face of over a dozen previous studies that showed that replacement estrogens protected the hearts of menopausal women.
It may be time for menopausal women suffering from serious discomfort to revisit this issue with their physicians. It makes little sense for them to endure unknown risks from taking multiple drugs in an effort to get relief and protect themselves from risks that are, in fact, a false impression left by a poorly designed study.
source: http://health.yahoo.com/
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