Taking estrogen alone will not prevent chronic diseases in postmenopausal women who have had a hysterectomy. However it is found to increase the risk of stroke and decrease the risk of hip factures, according to the latest research.
For the study investigators examined whether conjugated equine estrogen alone or in combination with progestin would reduce coronary heart disease events in mostly healthy women. Postmenopausal American women use CEE more frequently than any other hormone therapy.The estrogen-alone trial was halted because researchers found it had no significant effect on reducing the risk of coronary heart disease but it did cause a significant increase in stroke risk. The estrogen-plus-progestin portion of the trial was also halted because researchers said the health risks exceeded the benefits.Although estrogen alone did increase the risk of stroke and deep-vein thrombosis, it did not significantly affect the risk of pulmonary embolism, colorectal cancer or breast cancer. Also, researchers say women on estrogen-alone suffered fewer hip fractures than women on a placebo.
Thus researchers say women can continue to take estrogen-alone for postmenopausal symptoms, but they should only take the smallest effective dose for the shortest possible time. Since estrogen-alone seems to offer no overall health benefits, the researchers say it should not be used for these purposes.
