February 1, 2007 — A scientific advisory panel to the North American Menopause Society has issued a position statement on the use of hormone therapy (HT), which softens its previous stance on the issue. The statement was published in the February 25 Ahead of Print issue of Menopause.
"For women with severe menopausal symptoms, within a few years of their last period, hormone therapy shouldn't be as scary as it has been made out to be," director of the North American Menopause Society and panel chair Wulf Utian, MD, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, told heartwire.
For older women, the decision is more difficult, he says. Although there are fewer women of this age who will require HT, some have menopausal symptoms for many years or have experienced symptoms after stopping HT in the past few years, and this group wants to know whether they can restart therapy. But older women are at higher absolute risk for cancer and heart disease, so "it has to be a personal decision, our panel is stating that very clearly. An older woman must consider all the risks and benefits."
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