The number of U.S. women popping post-menopausal hormone pills didn’t just drop after one big study a decade ago — it kept dropping through at least 2010, a large new study shows.
As of 2009-2010, just 4.7% of women over age 40 said they were taking the hormones (estrogen or estrogen plus progestin), at least in pill form, says the study of 10,107 women published this week in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
That’s down from 22.4% in the years 1999 through 2002, says researchers led by Brian L. Sprague of the University of Vermont. The big plunge first showed up in 2003-2004 — after the 2002 publication of results from the Women’s Health Initiative. That study linked the combination of estrogen and progestin with breast cancer, heart disease and stroke and found average risks outweighed benefits. It left women seeking other solutions — many of them not very effective — for hot flashes, vaginal dryness and other menopause symptoms. Read full article.
