Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been shown to reduce many cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, but many women have stopped using HRT due to reports from the Women's Health Initiative that HRT may increase the risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
In a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health examined whether the increased CVD risk from stopping HRT could be minimized by lifestyle change intervention.
Participants were part of the five-year Women On the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) study, a randomized clinical trial of CVD prevention. The focus of this investigation was 240 women who were taking HRT at baseline; 134 of these women were randomized to the lifestyle intervention and the remaining 106 were randomized to the health education group.
Participants were followed for 18 months. At 18 months, 110 (46%) of the women had continued HRT and the remaining 130 had discontinued HRT.
The lifestyle change group significantly decreased weight, Body Mass Index, waist circumference, total cholesterol and LDL-C, had improved fat intake and increased leisure physical activity, when compared to the health education group. In general, HRT discontinuation resulted in an increase in total cholesterol and LDL-C.
In the health education group, HRT discontinuers averaged over 22 mg/dL increase in total cholesterol and LDL-C while HRT continuers averaged less than 4 mg/dL increases. No such differences were observed in the lifestyle change group.