Hormone replacement therapy can be safely used in women in their XNUMXs, says Prof. Grzegorz Jakiel, member of the main board of the Polish Society of Menopause and Andropause.
The specialist cites a new interpretation of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, which initially indicated that women who use estrogens and gestagens are at greater risk of breast cancer.
“This was the first study to suggest that this type of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is not safe for women using it,” said Prof. Jakiel during the International Congress of Reproductive and Sexual Health “Woman and Man”, which took place in Warsaw.
He added that he could not be opposed to any other similar study. Therefore, a new, more detailed analysis of it was carried out. And this reinterpretation shows that HZT can be safely used by women aged 50-59. They are not more likely to develop breast cancer as feared, and have a lower risk of coronary heart disease.
According to prof. What HRT also has the advantage of reducing the risk of diabetes and bone fractures due to osteoporosis; it also lowers overall female mortality. This therapy is unfavorable only for women over 70 years of age.
These are also the new guidelines for the use of hormone replacement therapy published in mid-2011 by the International Society of Menopause.
Similar recommendations were adopted in February 2012 by The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). According to them, it may only be riskier after 10 years of using it after the onset of menopause.
“When it comes to recommendations for HRT, we can say that we are at the starting point” – emphasized prof. Jakiel. This therapy was recommended and widely used in the 80s. After the publication in 2002 of studies suggesting that it increased the risk of breast cancer, it began to be withdrawn. “Today we know as much about her as before, except that we scared many women,” he added.
The specialist admitted that hormone replacement therapy should be selected individually, depending on the age of the woman, health condition and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. When used correctly, it has the added benefits of treating insomnia, irritability, nervousness and mood swings, and it also improves memory and attention span.
The indication for the use of HRT is premature menopause. It occurs in 1 percent. women under 40 years of age and 5% those under 45 years of age. Hormone therapy should be used in them until at least 51 years of age.
Hormone replacement therapy is still only not recommended in men. “The decrease in testosterone occurs after 30 years of age, but it is slow in the vast majority of men” – emphasized prof. Piotr Radziszewski, urologist from the Medical University of Warsaw.
He argued that the level of the male sex hormone largely depends on the lifestyle. It is lowered by, among others smoking and alcohol abuse. However, it is enough to change bad habits to increase testosterone levels in the body.
Prof. Radziszewski said that the DHEA hormone, known as the youth hormone, is also not recommended. “It does not improve mood or memory at all,” he emphasized.
Due to poor lifestyles, he warned, men are increasingly developing osteoporosis, significantly increasing the risk of fractures. The most dangerous are hip fractures, which are much more likely to cause death in men than in women, who are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis.
Zbigniew Wojtasiński