Menopause Journal Reflects On The Women's Health Initiative 10 Years Later

Main Category: Menopause
Also Included In: Endocrinology
Article Date: 31 May 2012 - 0:00 PST


A great deal has been learned in the decade since the first results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) were published on July 9, 2002. The WHI was the largest and longest trial of postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT). The 27,000 women were prescribed estrogen-alone therapy, estrogen-progestogen therapy, or a placebo for 5 to 7 years, respectively.

Researchers expected to find that hormones prevented chronic conditions of aging in women, including heart disease. Instead, they found that hormones produced a mix of risks and benefits. The subsequent data from the WHI suggest that the risks of HT vary with a woman's age (safer if started soon after menopause).

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this landmark trial and its voluminous reporting, the June 2012 issue of Menopause will publish an editorial by JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, NCMP (NAMS President) and Lubna Pal, MBBS, MRCOG, MSc, NCMP, entitled "The Women's Health Initiative: An Unforgettable Decade," along with several other timely articles:

• "Evolution of Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Between 2002 and 2009" by Bruce Ettinger, MD, Sharon M. Wang, PharmD, MS, R. Scott Leslie, MPH, et al.
• "A Decade of Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Prescribing in the United States: Long-Term Effects of the WHI" by Amy Steinkellner, PharmD, Shannon Denison, MA, Sandra Eldridge, PharmD, et al.
• "Hormone Therapy Prescribing Trends in the Decade After the Women's Health Initiative: How Patients and Providers Have Found a Way to Sleep Better at Night" by Jennifer Corbelli, MD, Rachel Hess, MD, MS (editorial)

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