Low Estrogen Levels Can Lead to Premature Death & Benefits of Bio-identical Estrogen

A QUICK REVIEW of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI):  Back in 2002, the WHI findings suggested that hormone therapy increased a woman’s risk for breast cancer and heart disease. This was  a faulty assertion that led to fear, confusion and a dramatic reduction in hormone prescriptions around the world.  The backlash from the widely publicized findings frightened so many women away from any kind of hormone replacement therapy, including bio-identical hormones which are associated with far fewer risks. Remember, the WHI trials were using synthetic hormones derived from horse urine. Sadly, the media, women, and health care providers did not appreciate the difference between the two kinds of hormone therapy ( synthetic and bio-identical) and so all forms of FDA-approved hormone therapy declined in the past 10 years.

The Real Impact of Estrogen Avoidance for the Past 10 Years

A study in the July 2013 American Journal of Public Health, Yale researchers calculate that nearly 50,000 unnecessary deaths have occurred among women between the ages of 50 and 69 years who had a hysterectomy and avoided estrogen replacement therapy due to fears of its adverse risks. The study concludes that “estrogen therapy in younger postmenopausal women is associated with a decisive reduction in all-cause mortality.”
 

 A 2013 article in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism concludes that even data from the 2002 WHI study revealed positive results from hormone therapy, including:

• A very beneficial (overall) risk-to-benefit ratio when using hormone therapy.
• A protective effect for heart disease, strokes along with a reduction in mortality.
• Decreased breast cancer rates with estrogen and bio-identical progesterone use. 
• Reduced risk of fractures
• Improved skin tone
• Improved cognitive function
• and more!

Benefits of Progesterone

Accumulating data suggests that regimens using bio-identical progesterone, appear to pose no increased risk, and may even decrease the risk of breast cancer.  In addition, various reports have also suggested an increased rate of osteoporotic fractures since WHI, likely due to reduced use of postmenopausal Hormone therapy( HT)

In the 10 years since WHI, nearly a generation of women have been denied HT, missing a critical window of opportunity for preventing heart disease, stroke, dementia and even breast cancer. This has resulted in needless suffering, broken bones and death for an estimated 50,000 women…all this from the faulty interpretation of a single, flawed study!

Doc and I hope these studies increase awareness and foster a conversation in the media so all women can get the facts they need to help their bodies to thrive. We feel it’s important  to look past the media headlines and continually examine the medical literature from a variety of sources, so your therapy decisions are based upon the “big picture”.
These findings are not a surprise to us…we have been endorsing and learning about the many benefits of bio-identical hormone therapy for years at functional medicine conferences for years!
Find out if bio-identical hormone therapy is right for you by contacting Dr Peters this week for a complementary phone consultation at 310-373-7830.

REFERENCES

1. Utian WH: Managing Menopause After HERS II and WHI: Coping with the Aftermath. Menopause Management, July 2002,Vol. 11 – No. 4.

2. Karim R, Dell RM, Greene DF, Mack WJ, Gallagher JC and Hodis HN. Hip fracture in postmenopausal women after cessation of hormone therapy: results from a large health management organization. Menopause 2011;18:1172-1177.
3. Lobo RA. Where are we 10 years after the Women’s Health Initiative? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 May;98(5):1771-80.

4. Sarrel PM, Njike VY, Vinante V and Katz DL. The mortality toll of estrogen avoidance: An analysis of excess deaths among hysterectomized women aged 50 to 59 years. Am J Public Hlth. Published online ahead of print.