Effects of Estrogen plus Progestin on Health-Related Quality of Life

The Women's Health Initiative previously established that therapy with estrogen and progestin does not prevent disease in postmenopausal women. In the same large, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving postmenopausal women 50 to 79 years of age, estrogen plus progestin did not provide any clinically meaningful benefits in terms of 12 aspects of health-related quality of life, including energy, mood, cognition, sleep, and sexual satisfaction. Few benefits for energy, mood, sleep, or sexual satisfaction. The recent findings of several large-scale randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that protection from cardiovascular disease is not an indication for the use of estrogen plus progestin among postmenopausal women. 1 – 3 The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) found that women taking estrogen (conjugated equine estrogen) plus progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate) were at increased risk for myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and breast cancer as compared with women taking placebo. In spite of the decreased risk of osteoporotic fractures and colorectal cancer, there was an unfavorable global risk–benefit profile in the hormone-treatment group, and the planned 8.5-year randomized clinical trial was stopped after . . .