Finnish-Estonian study finds health risks in hormone replacement therapy
Hormone users suffered more cancer and coronary disease than control group
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A study by Finnish and Estonian researchers shows that hormone replacement therapy given to menopausal women exposes them to considerable health risks.
According to the study, Estonian women undergoing hormone therapy had higher rates of various diseases after an average 3.4 years of taking hormones than the control group of women who did not take hormones. The illnesses included coronary disease, circulatory problems in the brain, and cancer.
Those taking hormones also appeared to require health services more frequently than the control group, and the medical procedures that they had to undergo were more expensive than among women who did not use hormones.
The results of the study are similar to those of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) studies in the United States, which were suspended in 2002. The results of the latest research were announced in Helsinki on Tuesday.
The list of benefits of hormone treatment was short: those who got hormones suffered fewer fractures than the control group, and those who had suffered from hot flashes and heavy nighttime perspiration said that they benefited from the hormones. On the other hand, they had more bleeding than the women in the control group.
The Estonian women in the study did not feel that hormone treatment had improved the quality of their lives during the experiment, as depression, sleeping difficulties, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and bloating were not any less frequent than among the control group. Women in the control group were found to use fewer tranquilisers and anti-depressants than those who received hormone treatment.
Quality of life was measured using an international scale assessing hot flashes, nighttime perspiration and sleep problems, as well as fears, worries, depression, and sex behaviour.
Research professor Elina Hemminki sees the drugs used in menopausal hormone therapy to be dangerous and harmful, and feels that they should be used only for short periods of time, and only for the treatment of severe symptoms related to menopause.
Hemminki is very critical of what she sees as excessive pushing of hormone treatment. In 2001 nearly half of women aged 55 to 64 underwent hormone replacement therapy. Treatment was recommended even to risk groups, such as coronary disease patients, and in many cases, the treatment was long-term.
The use of hormones has decreased everywhere in recent years, but Hemminki notes that in Finland the reduction has not been as sharp as in the United States and Norway, for instance.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 1.11.2006 - TODAY |
 Finnish-Estonian study finds health risks in hormone replacement therapy
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