Posted by DrTim on July 11, 2004 at 14:09:57:
In Reply to: WHI Results from Estrogen only Group posted by Dee on June 30, 2004 at 09:25:57:
Thank you for thoughtful comments. These studies are extremely difficult to do and interpret under the best conditions. Consider the following and some surprising newly published results:
1) The reported findings for WHI on Estrogen or Estrogen/Progestin have essentially no statistical validity for ANY outcomes [see "Estrogen & Progestin- a Review of the Studies(V)" on the website].
2) In particular, the fact that no heart disease benefit is seen for estrogen means very little, because the studies are underpowered (particularly for Heart Disease: see Naftolin F et al, "The Women's Health Initiative could not have detected cardioprotective effects of starting hormone therapy during the menopausal transition", Fertility and Sterility, June 2004, 1498-1501.
3) The best guidance we have currently is that Estrogen and Progestin provide health benefits to menopausal women.
DrTimDelivers (July 2004)