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Experts Weigh in on Hormone Therapy

Risks & Benefits of Postmenopausal Use of Hormones

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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
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Stroke


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The table below summarizes the available evidence on the risks and benefits of hormone therapy. Included are all randomized trials and meta-analyses looking at disease incidence or mortality. Inclusion of observational trials was dependent on size: case-control studies with 500 or more cases of the disease and cohort studies with at least 2,000 women are included here.

The year noted is when the study results were published. The name following the title of the study is the last name of the first author on the publication.

E = estrogen; P = progestin

Year

Study

Study Type

Participants

Hormones

Results

Other Notes

1985

Framingham Heart Study, Wilson

Cohort

1,234

E

Increases risk 100%

Majority of women used estrogen

1993

Finucane

Cohort

1,910

E

Decreases risk of fatal stroke 63%

 

1999

Grodstein (A)

Cohort

9,236

E, E + P

No significant difference in risk

Same result for E vs. E + P

2000

Nurses' Health Study, Grodstein

Cohort

70,533

E, E + P

35% increased risk with E alone and 63% with E + P

20 years follow-up

2001

Women's Estrogen for Stroke Trial (WEST), Viscoli

Randomized

664

E

Increases risk of fatal stroke 190% during first 6 months

Participants had recently had ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack

2001

Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS), Simon

Randomized

2,763

E + P

No significant effect on risk among women with coronary heart disease

4.1 years follow-up

2002

Women's Health Initiative

Randomized

16,608

E + P

Increases risk 41%

Average follow-up 5.2 years


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