Known unknowns in HRT

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Some counter-narratives coming out of a British Medical Journal seminar called HRT for treating menopause: known unknowns. I sure wish you could read this whole article or watch the video, but since there is a paywall, I’ll give you some worth-it highlights:

• “Coronary heart disease and dementia were previously thought to be prevented by HRT, however recent data appear to show no relationship — perhaps even a slightly increased risk of dementia, said Gillian Reeves, director of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford Different randomized studies have returned conflicting results.”

• “It’s easy to see why a pharmaceutical solution is appealing. Not only does it avoid such difficult discussions, Martha Hickey, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne alluded to the financial incentives for the pharmaceutical industry to promote HRT treatment for all — a point raised as far back as 1975 in a Lancet editorial.

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