In the early 2000s, a major women’s health study — Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) — made headlines. As an ongoing study launched in the ‘90s, the WHI asked: could menopause hormone therapy (MHT), used to ease menopause symptoms, also protect against serious health problems in later life?
A smaller arm, the WHI Memory Study (WHIMS), focused on brain health in women without dementia.
When results were released in 2002, they were shocking. Women on MHT were more likely — not less — to develop heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and dementia. Doctors quickly advised against MHT, prescriptions plummeted, and for years, MHT nearly disappeared from the conversation.
