youth ” and more like a “ fountain of age .”
The study found that women on HRT had a 26 percent higher risk of breast cancer , a 29 percent higher risk of heart attacks , a 41 percent higher risk of stroke , and a doubled risk of blood clots . Newly released data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association also found an increased risk of dementia .
“ These findings , coupled with previously reported WHI data , support the conclusion that the risks of estrogen plus progestin outweigh the benefits ,” the researchers wrote .
Other studies have found that women on HRT were found to be more likely to lose their hearing ; develop gallbladder disease , asthma , or melanoma ; experience urinary incontinence ; need joint replacement ; develop ovarian and / or lung cancer ; and develop non-Hodgkin ’ s lymphoma .
HRT not only increased the risk of breast cancer ; it made detection more difficult . A 1995 article in the journal Radiology states that “ an increase in mammographic density ” was demonstrated in most subjects undergoing continuous combined HRT . In 2008 , researchers said that “ this adverse effect on breast cancer detection should be incorporated into risk-benefit discussions with women considering even short-term combined hormone therapy .”
As doctors and patients absorbed the extreme hyping of HRT benefits and the hiding of its risks , prescriptions dropped precipitously . So did breast cancer . Between 2001 and 2004 , U . S . cases of breast cancer in postmenopausal women dropped by 8.6 percent and estrogenfed cases of breast cancers fell by 14.7 percent .
Aftermath And Dawn Of Low T
After the second HRT meltdown , the lowest hormone dose possible for the shortest duration was the medical recommendation for menopausal symptoms ; long-term use was discouraged , despite positive estrogenic effects on bones . But drugmakers didn ’ t concede the anti-aging territory , especially because drugs taken long-term ( think statins and blood pressure pills ) are their best products versus short-term drugs such as antibiotics that make no real money . Some studies have since tried to support HRT but a 2019 WHI follow-up found women still had a 29 percent greater incidence of breast cancer 19 years after using the drugs .
The only exception to that risk were women over 50 who took estrogen alone . Because taking estrogen alone raises the risk of uterine cancer , this therapy is only recommended for women over 50 who no longer have a uterus . For these women , taking estrogen alone may actually decrease breast cancer risk , though other risks remain .
Critics of the WHI study , particularly drug makers , say the women in the study were “ too old ” and “ too menopausal .” Some doctors and researchers suggested HRT drugs should be used earlier . Enter the concept of “ perimenopause ,” which , it was said , could occur as early as a woman ’ s mid-30s .
“ Just when you get used to PMS , they say you have perimenopause ,” a related cartoon said .
The apparently bad WHI results also stemmed from the wrong hormones being used , HRT promoters said as they rolled out new HRT candidates and “ bioidentical ” hormones .
Most of these bio-identical hormone producers already had skin in the HRT game . Thanks to promoters like Suzanne Somers , bio-identical hormones became a lucrative second wave of HRT but the FDA , Mayo Clinic , Cleveland Clinic and the American Cancer Society all say there are no large-scale , well-designed studies to support those claims . In other words , there is no reason to believe they are safer .
Meanwhile , the emergence of “ Low T ” or “ low testosterone ” in men was déjà vu all over again . Although ads didn ’ t accuse men of “ outliving their testicles ,” the rest of the sales pitch was the same . If men were losing their sex drive , energy , muscles , and looks , it wasn ’ t aging — it was testosterone deficiency . A 40-fold increase in testosterone prescriptions occurred between 2005 and 2015 , according to research in the Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society .
Many testosterone replacement products , including pills , injections , patches , gels , solutions , and even underarm deodorant have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration , but they aren ’ t without risks , according to researchers in Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management . Risks can include a worsening of benign prostate problems , heart failure , sleep apnea , and liver toxicity .
“ Low T ” is likely overdiagnosed and overtreated , according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society researchers .
“ We join others who characterize the mass marketing of testosterone coupled with the permissive prescribing of testosterone for common , nonspecific , aging-related symptoms as disease mongering ,” the researchers wrote .
In an interview , Dr . Thomas T . Perls , a professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine and one of the paper ’ s authors , told me that what ’ s called Low T may actually be signs of a suboptimal lifestyle and diet .
“ Men who are in excellent general health tend to have no decline in their testosterone , but men with common underlying problems such as obesity and poor fitness may . The irony is that the poor fitness level puts these male patients at risk for heart attack and stroke , and they are being given a drug that puts them at further risk ,” Perls said .
In a 2020 video , Drs . Mark Hyman and George Papanicolaou agreed that lifestyle factors should always be considered before testosterone replacement .
After the many dramas around HRT for women , I asked Perls if nothing had been learned about the reckless promotion of “ fountain of youth ” products .
“ Actually , marketers did learn from watching a hormone marketed to prevent the ills of aging ,” he said . “ They invented the term ‘ andropause ’ for a condition that numerous endocrinology experts state does not exist and began selling testosterone .”
38 x The Trial Lawyer