“It’s really powerful and compelling evidence,” Manson said.
Breast cancer also appeared to be less common in women who’d taken estrogen than among those on dummy pills. An editorial accompanying the study notes that those findings contrast with many studies linking estrogen pills with an increased breast cancer risk.
Andrea LaCroix, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said it’s possible that estrogen didn’t have a harmful effect on breast tissue in women studied because they were taken well after menopause when women’s naturally occurring estrogen levels have declined.
Dr. Graham Colditz, a Washington University researcher who co-wrote the editorial, noted that duration of estrogen use as directed was pretty short during the study, averaging about 3 1/2 years, and most women started taking the hormone years after a hysterectomy or after menstrual periods ended.
“The results really don’t directly translate to how we see women getting hormone therapy in the real world of current American medicine,” Colditz said.
___
Online:
JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org
Women’s Health Initiative: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/
By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
First over-the-counter column approved for fast and effective relief from even your worst media-induced headache.
Happiness is attainable. Morning to night. I love to teach, deal with folks that have an issue and really wish to tackle it and write.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
NRA kicks off annual convention
8 Photos
California wildfires wreak havoc
37 Photos
