2. Publication of Clinical Trial Results on Hormone Therapy Lowered Use
Release of data from two long-term studies of hormone therapy, finding that taking HT did not protect against heart disease (1998) and that women who took HT had a higher risk for heart disease and breast cancer than those who did not take HT (2002) was followed by decline in use of HT. Release of the HERS data from the HERS study in 1998 was temporally associated with a modest decline in use of HT. (Before publication of HERS, the use of HT was about 41% in the study group and was increasing at a rate of 1% per quarter. After publication, use decreased by 1% per quarter. Termination of one arm of the WHI study and release of data was followed by a more substantial decline in use of HT (18% per quarter). Researchers looked at the use of HT before and after the results of the two trials were published among women in San Francisco who had mammograms between 1997 and 2003.
The study did not answer why this decline occurred, but authors and editorial writers surmise that the widespread news coverage, especially after termination of the WHI study, was responsible for informing both physicians and patients and resulted in rapid change in practice.
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Annals of Internal Medicine