Vaginal Estrogens Not Linked to Disease Risk

September 20th, 2017

Many menopausal women use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) taken orally or vaginally to relieve symptoms such as urinary problems, vaginal discomfort, and pain during sex. While certain health risks associated with oral HRT have been well documented, until recently less was known about health risks related to vaginal estrogens applied locally through creams and inserts. Newly published results in the journal Menopause found that women using vaginal estrogens had no greater risk of stroke, invasive breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, or pulmonary embolism than women who did not use vaginal estrogens. The research also showed that women who used vaginal estrogens actually had a lower risk of heart disease, hip fracture, and premature death. Researchers examined data from 45,663 menopausal women enrolled at 40 sites including the University of Pittsburgh in the long-running Women’s Health Initiative. Researchers hope their findings will provide reassurance about the safety of vaginal estrogen use, and may support a change in package labeling of vaginal estrogens to better reflect the safety profile.

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