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The principal findings from the Women's Health Initiative study were released last year (Journal Watch Jul 26 2002), but the investigators continue to publish additional analyses of the results. In this report, they describe the cardiovascular outcomes in more detail.
The 16,608 postmenopausal participants received either combination hormone therapy (HT; conjugated equine estrogen plus medroxyprogesterone) or placebo. During an average follow-up of 5.6 years, the rate of coronary events was significantly higher in the HT group than in the placebo group (39 vs. 33 events per 10,000 person-years). HT-associated risk for coronary disease was highest during the first year (hazard ratio, 1.81), lower during years 2 through 5 (HR range, 1.25-1.45)…