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Clinical trials:
In 1991 the National Institute
of Health (NIH) launched the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), the largest clinical trial ever undertaken in the United
States.
The WHI was designed to provide answers concerning possible risks associated with the use of hormone replacement
therapy (HRT).
More than 16,600 U.S. women were participating in the trial. A review of preliminary data found a 26
percent increase in breast cancer and 18 percent in ovarian cancer. In addition, instead of a heart benefit there was a
29 percent increase in heart attacks and a 22 percent increase in total cardiovascular disease as well as heart disease,
blood clots and strokes among women receiving the hormones.
After the risks were identified among the HRT users, the WHI
study was discontinued in July 2002. The findings were published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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