HRT - "Turning Tide"

At the time of the Nurses' Health Study,the medical establishment was aware that HRT had certain problems. It was known (Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol 85, p304, 1995) that post-menopausal treatment with estrogen alone raised the risk of a certain type of cancer, hence the trend to provide estrogen combined with progesterone. However the major about-face came in 1998: the HERS (Heart and Estroget/progest in Replacement Study) found surprisingly (then) that there was an increase in CHD events in the first year, and no benefit to CHD thereafter, when compared to a placebo. But it took four more years to fully recognize this. In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial was stopped early due to unfavorable results for patients who took estrogen + progestin, and at that point, the medical establishment started accepting that HRT may be detrimental to women's health. The results were published in JAMA vol 288, p 321 (2002). They found that the hormone combination resulted in increased risk of coronary events, stroke, breast cancer, pulmonary embolism, and dementia. They believe that these increased risks outweigh the decreased risk that they found in hip fractures and colon cancer. An additional outcome of the WHI study, for women who were given estrogen only (they had had a hysterectomy) was published in JAMA vol 291, p1701 (2004).

Overnight, women stopped taking hormones, and many of them suffered excruciating hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Was there a valid reason for this? Had the newly measured risks really become so severe that the mass withdrawal was justified? Lets take a look at the actual risks!