Does Estrogen Therapy Really Help Save Women's Lives?

Since the 2002 publication of results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), use of hormone therapy has declined markedly among U.S. women. However, relatively little attention has been directed at data from the estrogen-only arm of this study. Postintervention follow-up data published in 2011 indicated that, among hysterectomized women aged 50 to 59 who received oral estrogen, mortality risk was reduced by 13 per 10,000 women per year (NEJM JW Womens Health Apr 5 2011). Now, investigators delve further into this finding in the search for definitive answers about the effects of estrogen therapy.

A formula to evaluate excess mortality was applied to the subset of hysterectomized women aged 50 to 59 who were assigned to either estrogen or p…