For more than two decades, millions of women have been told that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after menopause is dangerous.

The turning point was the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study published in 2002. Media headlines around the world warned that estrogen therapy caused cancer and should be avoided.

The result was immediate and dramatic. Prescriptions for HRT collapsed almost overnight.

But according to physicians and researchers like Avrum Bluming, author of Estrogen Matters, much of the public narrative surrounding the WHI was deeply misleading. In fact, Bluming and other researchers argue that misinterpretation of the data deprived millions of women of therapies that could protect their health and quality of life.

The story of the WHI illustrates a broader problem: the politicization of women’s health.

What the Women’s Health Initiative Actually Found

The WHI was designed to evaluate the effects of hormone therapy on post-menopausal women. Early reports focused heavily on a small increase in breast cancer risk in a subgroup of women taking combined estrogen-progestin therapy.

But several critical details were lost in the media coverage:

Many participants were well past menopause, often in their 60s and 70s, when hormone therapy was first introduced.

Many participants were well past menopause, often in their 60s and 70s, when hormone therapy was first introduced.

Later analysis found no increased breast cancer risk in women taking estrogen alone.

Later analysis found no increased breast cancer risk in women taking estrogen alone.

Follow-up research showed that timing matters: starting HRT closer to menopause may carry significant benefits.

Follow-up research showed that timing matters: starting HRT closer to menopause may carry significant........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)