Menopause and Related Health Risks..Deborah Mokowitz,ND

In July 2002, after determining that estrogen in combination with progestin increased a woman's risk of breast cancer, coronary events, stroke, and blood clots, the National Institutes of Health,(NIH) prematurely halted the first part of the WHI, a study designed to identify the risks and benefits associated with long-term use. In this study, 16,608 healthy postmenopausal women with uterus, ages 50-79, were randomized to either test or placebo group. The test group received a combination of equine estrogen and synthetic progestin (PremPro);no bioidentical hormones were used. At the time the study was halted, PremPro compared to placebo resulted in:
*26-percent increased risk of invasive breast cancer (eight additional cases per 10,000 women per year);
*29-percent increased risk of myocardial infarction(MI)or death from coronary heart disease (CHD)(seven additional cases per 10,000 women per year);
*41-percent increased risk of stroke (eight additional cases per 10,000 women per year);and
*200-percent increased risk of blood clots (18 additional cases per 10,000 women per year).
The WHI study also confirmed benefits seen in previous studies, most notably:
*33-percent decreased risk of hip fracture (five fewer fractures per 10,000 women per year);
*37-percent decreased risk of colorectal cancer (six fewer cases per 10,000 women per year);and
*Relief of menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal atrophy.
An ancillary study the following year, the Women''s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), demonstrated additional risks for women on combination equine estrogens and synthetic progestins. The study found combination therapy doubled the risk of developing dementia in women age 65 and older.