When discussing HRT with Dr Margaret Smith some years ago she was quite annoyed at the facts of a report that was being put out to women.
These facts caused a great number of women worldwide to become scared and to cease taking HRT. I just came across an article in regards to this showing how evidents have changed and showing the benefits in taking HRT.
Hormone replacement therapy
July 20, 2012, Today Tonight, Channel 7
A decade ago women around the world were told the key treatment for menopause was putting them at high risk of cancer, and as a result doctors stopped recommending HRT.
It is now clear that using HRT for relief of menopausal symptoms around the time of a woman’s last menstrual period is effective and saf
Hormone Replacement Therapy 10 years on from WHI:
Statement from Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, 22 May 2012:
A comprehensive review of evidence surrounding the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopausal women was published by Climacteric, the official journal of the International Menopause Society, online on Tuesday 22 May 2012.
Articles by some of the world’s leading experts in the field show how evidence has changed in the ten years since the first Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) report caused a dramatic drop in HRT use worldwide. The 2002 WHI study found that risks associated with HRT outweighed its benefits in older women (on average 12 years past menopause), who are already at high risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
It is now clear that “classical use of HRT” – i.e. for relief of menopausal symptoms around the time of a woman’s last menstrual period – is effective and safe. For otherwise healthy women suffering debilitating symptoms around the time of menopause, the benefits of taking HRT significantly outweigh the risks. These benefits include not only relief of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and vaginal atrophy, but also improvements in bone strength (women who ceased their HRT after the 2002 WHI report significantly increased their risk of bone fractures) and lasting reductions in risks of diabetes, heart disease and various cancers.
Jean Hailes for Women’s Health was founded to provide women with practical information based on the best available evidence. Professor Henry Burger, a founding director of Jean Hailes and a former president of both the Australasian Menopause Society (AMS) and the International Menopause Society (IMS), says “The IMS statement confirms and summarises publications coming from many bodies – such as the Australasian, North American and European Menopause Societies, the US Endocrine Society and Jean Hailes – that emphasise the safety and efficacy of HRT for the management of symptomatic peri- and post-menopausal women. The benefits are substantial and the risks minimal in such women.”
Source: http://www.managingmenopause.org.au/management/hormone-therapy/hrt-what-you-need-to-know
