Fertility and Sterility
Volume 81, Issue 6 , Pages 1498-1501 , June 2004

The Women's Health Initiative could not have detected cardioprotective effects of starting hormone therapy during the menopausal transition

  • Frederick Naftolin, M.D., Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Frederick Naftolin, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University, P.O. Box 208063, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8063 (FAX: 203-785-5294, USA)
    • ,
  • Hugh S. Taylor, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
    • ,
  • Richard Karas, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • ,
  • Eliot Brinton, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Internal Medicine, Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
    • ,
  • Isadore Newman, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Life-Span Development and Gerontology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
    • ,
  • Thomas B. Clarkson, D.V.M.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
    • ,
  • Michael Mendelsohn, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    • ,
  • Rogerio A. Lobo, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Debra R. Judelson, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Women's Heart Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • ,
  • Lila E. Nachtigall, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Christopher B. Heward, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Research and Development, The Kronos Group, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
    • ,
  • Harvey Hecht, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Phillips Ambulatory Care Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
    • Vascular Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, USA
    • ,
  • Michael R. Jaff, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
    • ,
  • S.Mitchell Harman, M.D., Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Received 18 November 2003 ,Revised 25 February 2004 ,Accepted 25 February 2004.

References 

  1. Grodstein F, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ. Postmenopausal hormone use and secondary prevention of coronary events in the Nurses' Health Study. A prospective, observational study. Ann Intern Med. 2001;135:1–8
  2. Lindsay R. Management of osteoporosis. Baillieres Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988;2:103–124
  3. Mikkola TS, Clarkson TB. Estrogen replacement therapy, atherosclerosis, and vascular function. Cardiovasc Res. 2002;53:605–619
  4. Haynes MP, Li L, Russell KS, Bender JR. Rapid vascular cell responses to estrogen and membrane receptors. Vasc Pharmacol. 2002;38:99–108
  5. Karas RH, Clarkson TB. Considerations in interpreting the cardiovascular effects of hormone replacement therapy observed in the WHI (timing is everything). Menopausal Med. 2003;10:8–12
  6. Diano S, Horvath TL, Mor G, Register T, Adams M, Harada N, et al.  Aromatase and estrogen receptor immunoreactivity in the coronary arteries of monkeys and humans. Menopause. 1999;6:21–28
  7. Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Willett WC, et al.  Postmenopausal estrogen therapy and cardiovascular disease. Ten-year follow-up from the Nurses' Health Study. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:756–762
  8. Langer RD. Legend meets reality (estrogen plus progestin and coronary heart disease in the Women's Health Initiative). Menopausal Med. 2003;10:5–7
  9. Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al.  Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women (principal results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial). JAMA. 2002;288:321–333
  10. Manson JE, Hsia J, Johnson KC, et al.  Estrogen plus progestin and the risk of coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:523–534
  11. Hays J, Ockene JK, Brunner RL, et al.  Effects of estrogen plus progestin on health-related quality of life. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:1839–1854
  12. Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, et al.  Trends in the incidence of coronary heart disease and changes in diet and lifestyle in women. N Engl J Med. 2000;343:530–537
  13. Shapiro S. Effects of hormone replacement therapy on the risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease: the validity of the epidemiological evidence. In: Schneider HPG, Naftolin F, eds. Climacteric medicine—where do we go? Proceedings of the 4th Workshop of the International Menopause Society. London: Parthenon Publishing. In press
  14. International Menopause Society Executive Committee. Guidelines for the hormone treatment of women in the menopausal transition and beyond: Position Statement by the Executive Committee of the International Menopause Society. Climacteric 2004;7:8–11

PII: S0015-0282(04)00504-7

doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2004.02.095

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 81, Issue 6 , Pages 1498-1501 , June 2004

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