Shifts in endocrine homeostasis and preventive hormone replacement therapy: extending the Women’s Health Initiative globally

摘要

BackgroundReducing disease risk for women after menopause is global health issue. A major portion of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) consisted of two clinical trials involving 161,809 post-menopausal women aged 50–79 that tested the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on reducing cardiovascular disease and other secondary outcomes. Previous analyses of the data reveal that HRT should not be recommended for post-menopausal women, but show potential benefits for younger women. Thus, there may be a critical period just prior to or during the early stages of menopause where HRT could be both safe and beneficial.