Hormone Replacement
Study Findings Not Well Known

Most women are unaware of the results of a large-scale study that found significant cancer and heart risks associated with long-term hormone replacement therapy (HRT), says a report in the journal Menopause.

That study, called the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), generated massive amounts of publicity immediately after it was released in 2002. Its data caused many American women to abandon HRT altogether.

But just two years later, in June 2004, fewer than one third of women surveyed by Stanford University researchers said they knew about the findings.

"I was quite surprised by that," says study author Dr. Randall Stafford at Stanford University. "Other research had indicated that up to half had heard about it."

One-Third of Women Know of the WHI
When asked if they had talked about hormone therapy with their physicians, the researchers found that 36 percent of women aware of the WHI findings had talked about it with their physicians.

But only 15 percent of those who did not know about the study results did.

"We need to do a better job of disseminating information," says Dr. Stafford, referring to the health care system.

But another expert familiar with the study viewed the results a bit differently.

Some of the women may not have been even thinking yet about menopause, since the survey included women as young as 40, for whom menopause is typically five to 10 years away, notes Dr. William Parker, at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

"The unanswered question is, 'How many women who need to know the information now do not have it?' " says Dr. Parker.

Younger Women Will Need Info Eventually
If a woman is not at the point where she has to make a decision about hormone therapy, he says, it would not jeopardize her care if she was unaware of the study and its findings and did not have a conversation with her physician.

In his own practice, says Dr. Parker, "If a woman is, say, age 48, and comes in, says she is having occasional hot flashes but is still having periods, I tell her, 'Let's have a conversation when you need it, because this information changes so quickly.'"

Since the original WHI results were released in 2002, numerous re-analyses have been done of the study to confirm or negate the original findings, he notes.

Unless a woman needs the information immediately, reasons Dr. Parker, the office visit time would probably be better spent on other concerns or preventive health.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. The pharmaceutical company was interested in the data due to its black cohosh product for menopausal symptom relief, says Dr. Stafford.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Online Resources

(Our Organization is not responsible for the content of Internet sites.)

Menopause - Women's awareness and knowledge of hormone therapy post-Women's Health Initiative

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Women's Health Information Center

NIH - Office of Research on Women's Health

Women's Health Initiative (WHI)