Jen Gunter Instagram – As promised I took a deep dive into that recent review about the WHI. Never has a study been so misunderstood and mischaracterized. While it is true we no longer primarily use the hormones in this study, it has taught us a lot. And it is a big study that looms large, so knowing more about it is useful. One key thing to know is the findings were never meant to stop people from taking hormones for symptoms. It was a disease prevention study and it was stopped early because the hormones did not prevent disease, and in fact were incurring a small risk. A medication for disease prevention can’t have a net negative. The review reinforces that the WHI does not support the MHT regimens used in that study for disease prevention. It is not meant to stop people from taking hormones if those hormones are helping to treat symptoms. This review helps to explain the risks of the regimens studied, so people can put them in context and better understand the WHI. The WHI findings regarding breast cancer have not been “walked back,” and we still believe that combination MHT has a risk of breast cancer. But many medications have risks, and so people need to weigh the benefits against those risks. We know more things about MHT now, for example that blood clot risks seem lower with transdermal therapy. So for many people, risks are even less than found with the WHI. And of course in the WHI many risks were lower in those ages 50-59. Since there is so much information and misinformation about the WHI it is really hard to go into detail here, so I encourage you to read the piece on The Vajenda (link in bio). I spent a long time on the piece, going back and reading the initial studies and some of the key updates to bring some clarity. Hope it helps explain some things.