Women’s Health Initiative

Abbreviated to WHI. A very large series of studies on the health of menopausal women. It includes randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials, as well as observational studies of the effect of a low fat diet on breast cancer risk and vitamin D and calcium for preventing osteoporosis. The trials involve estrogen or estrogen plus very low dose medroxyprogesterone (ovarian hormone therapy, OHT) compared with placebo therapy in healthy menopausal women. Results of the estrogen plus progestin arm that was discontinued early in July 2002 proved that “hormone replacement therapy” is not safe for healthy menopausal women and that “estrogen deficiency” is the wrong way to think about menopause. (See “Beyond ‘Estrogen Deficiency’—news from Women’s Health Initiative”, “What the Women’s Health Initiative Results Mean for Breast Cancer Survivors” and “WHI, One Year Later — WHY?”)