Is it good for women to take estrogen?

In daily life, we often hear middle-aged women complain that they are aging too quickly and thus experiencing menopause. Once menopause occurs, the ovaries stop working, which accelerates the aging of women. Therefore, many female friends will take estrogen to delay menopause, but is it good for women to take estrogen? In response to this question raised by everyone, please join me in understanding it in the following time.

Estrogen supplementation is called hormone replacement therapy by doctors. It was born in the 1960s and is mainly used to improve menopausal syndrome. In the United States alone, more than 40% of menopausal women take estrogen replacement medications, and many continue to use them into their 70s and 80s. Women are also told that estrogen is the fountain of youth, so some use it for breast enhancement, beauty treatments, and acne treatments.

In 1997, the American Association for the Promotion of Women's Health began a clinical investigation and research on the causes of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, and osteoporosis among nearly 170,000 American women aged 50 to 79. The investigation covered five aspects including diet and estrogen. The women were randomly divided into two groups, one group took estrogen and progestin together, and the other group took a placebo. After more than five years of follow-up tests, it was found that although taking hormones has some benefits, such as reducing the risk of hip fractures and colon cancer, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Women who take estrogen and progesterone at the same time have a much higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and blood clots than those taking placebos. Among them, the incidence of breast cancer was 26% higher, the incidence of heart disease was 29% higher, the incidence of stroke was 41% higher, and the incidence of blood clots in the lungs and femoral veins was twice as high. The discovery surprised scientists. The agency informed all women participating in the trial of the results and asked them to stop taking estrogen.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has now begun revising its guidelines for the use of estrogen replacement medications. Doctors are more cautious and no longer consider estrogen to be necessary and no longer strongly advocate estrogen replacement therapy.

◆It’s not about love or hate, it depends on need

Estrogen replacement therapy is a treatment, just like there is a treatment for any other disease. It treats the damage caused to the body by estrogen deficiency, so there is no need to be afraid of hormones. But any treatment has side effects, and this one is no exception. It is suitable for some women but not all women. Its purpose should be to improve the quality of life rather than to maintain eternal youth and beauty. It is wrong to use estrogen as a beauty and health product to maintain beauty and prolong life. It must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor and regular physical examinations and monitoring. Prescription drugs must be used, and a health risk assessment must be made by the doctor and the individual before starting, and a plan suitable for the individual must be developed based on family genetic characteristics, living environment, individual differences and age groups.

I believe that through the above understanding we all have, regarding the question of women taking estrogen, friends who have carefully read the above content will have a deeper understanding and cognition of this question in their hearts. Of course, I still want to emphasize again that it is normal for women to experience menopause when they reach a certain age. So I hope that female friends will not always worry about this issue and use some wrong methods to delay menopause.