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May 29, 2012 -- Women should not use hormone therapy (HT) toprevent chronic conditions, such as bone loss, after menopause. The advice is the draft recommendation of the U.S. PreventiveServices Task Force (USPSTF). It does not apply to women usinghormone therapy to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes . "We are just looking at women without symptoms who are trying toprevent something bad from happening in the future," the leader ofthe task force's HT analysis, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD,tells WebMD. Bibbins-Domingo is associate professor of medicine atthe University of California, San Francisco. The task force made its recommendation after reviewing an analysisof the latest HT research by Heidi D. Nelson, MD, MPH, andcolleagues at Oregon Health & Science University. "The last time the task force looked at this, they discouraged useof HT for any chronic condition," Nelson tells WebMD. "And in thereal world, there may be some women who took HT for menopausalsymptoms and are wondering whether to stay on it. These findingsreally apply to using HT after the symptoms of menopause are over." The updated analysis relies heavily on the now-famous Women'sHealth Initiative (WHI) study in which older, mostly postmenopausalwomen received either a placebo or HT. In that trial, treated women got a form of estrogen called conjugated equine estrogen (CEE, derived from horse urine)plus progestin. Women who had undergone hysterectomy received estrogen (CEE) alone. Benefits of Hormone Therapy to Prevent Disease Hormone therapy clearly had some benefits in preventing chronicconditions. Women getting estrogen plus progestin had: Fewer fractures A lower risk of diabetes Women getting estrogen alone had: Fewer fractures A lower risk of invasive breast cancer A lower risk of breast cancer death Harms of Hormone Therapy to Prevent Disease But hormone therapy had clear harms as well. Women getting estrogenplus progestin had: Higher risk of invasive breast cancer Higher risk of breast cancer death Higher risk of stroke Higher risk of blood clots in the leg (DVT) Higher risk of blood clots in the lung Higher risk of gallbladder disease Higher risk of dementia Higher risk of urinary incontinence Higher risk of lung cancer death Women getting estrogen alone had: Higher risk of stroke Higher risk of blood clots in the leg (DVT) Higher risk of gallbladder disease Higher risk of urinary incontinence "On balance, weighing the benefits against the harms led us to saywe would not use these therapies for the prevention of chronicconditions," Bibbins-Domingo says. "It really doesn't work for mostof the conditions we considered. And for the biggest benefit,osteoporosis, the harms far outweigh that benefit." The panel took into account the fact that other effective ways toprevent osteoporosis are available. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Pineapple Peeler Corer Slicer , Manual Ice Crushers for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Electric Food Chopper.
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