Hormone Replacement Therapy Offers Another Benefit

AORN Journal, March, 1999

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) helps preserve the heart, bones, and equanimity of women entering menopause, and now researchers say it may help women with diabetes, according to the October 1998 issue of Health. As women with diabetes are at increased risk of developing heart disease, HRT could help them avoid the disease; however, in the 1970s, studies indicated that the estrogen in HRT, at least in high doses, worsened insulin resistance.

Today, the level of estrogen and progestin in HRT is much lower. According to the article, physicians at Kaiser Permanente examined the records of 14,601 women more than 50 years of age with 2 diabetes to see if today's HRT made it more difficult for them to maintain their blood sugar levels. The physicians discovered that estrogen may actually lessen insulin resistance. Approximately 28% of the women were taking the hormone and had lower blood sugar counts by approximately 15 mg per deciliter when compared to those not taking HRT. This drop in blood sugar could be beneficial in the long run as elevated sugar levels can lead to complications (eg, blindness, kidney failure). In a different study, researchers found that healthy postmenopausal women not taking estrogen were almost five times more likely to develop diabetes than those who had taken estrogen continuously for 10 years.

"Estrogen pays a new dividend," Health 12 (October 1998) 15.