Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does nothing to improve the health-related quality of life for pos...
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does nothing to improve the health-related quality of life for postmenopausal women, according to a study by the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in the US.
Although HRT-linked health risks for conditions such as heart attack and breast cancer have been well documented, little study has taken place to measure how the treatment affects quality of life. This latest research concludes it does not have a 'clinically meaningful' effect.
The WHI randomly assigned over 16,500 postmenopausal women with either hormone tablets or a placebo. Quality of life measures were collected at base line and year one in all women and at three years in a subgroup of 1,511 women.
The women were asked questions about their overall wellbeing, such as sleep patterns, sexual and cognitive functioning and bodily pain. In the first year, HRT was found to have small benefits, but by year three there were none.
The report stated: 'The use of oestrogen and progestin was associated with a statistically significant but small and not clinically meaningful benefit in terms of sleep disturbance, physical functioning and bodily pain after one year. At three years, there were no significant benefits in terms of any quality-of-life outcomes.'
