The widespread rejection of estrogen therapies may have led to the deaths of close to 50,000 women who had hysterectomies.
A women's health initiative study in 2002 warned of the dangers of post-menopausal estrogen therapy, causing doctor's to fear prescribing it to women, a Yale press release reported.
The study was only relevant to women who had a uterus, because hormone therapies are linked to a higher risk of uterine cancer. The misinformed retreat from the therapy for women who had hysterectomies led to thousands of deaths over the past 10 years in women between the ages of 50 and 69.
"Sadly, the media, women, and health care providers did not appreciate the difference between the two kinds of hormone therapy," Dr. Philip Sarrel, professor in the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and Psychiatry, said. "As a result, the use of all forms of FDA-approved menopausal hormone therapy declined precipitously."
Before the 2002 study 90 percent of women ages 50 to 59 used estrogen therapy to treat symptoms of menopause and prevent osteoporosis. Today only about 10 percent of these women take estrogen.
The WHI study found women who had uterus' and took combined hormone therapy were at a much higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and blood clots.
Recent studies found women who had a hysterectomy and used estrogen-only therapy were much healthier. There were fewer deaths in the women who took the treatments, and they were less likely to develop breast cancer or heart disease. About 13 more per 10,000 women who did not use estrogen died, mostly from heart-related problems.
"Estrogen avoidance has resulted in a real cost in women's lives every year for the last 10 years - and the deaths continue," said Sarrel. "We hope this article will stir an overdue debate and raise consciousness about the health benefits of estrogen-only therapy for women in their 50s with no uterus."
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