CLEVELAND, Ohio -- July 16, 2008 -- Updated clinical recommendations for hormone therapy (HT) for postmenopausal women based on the best available evidence have just been released by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and will appear in the July/August 2008 issue of Menopause.
The new position statement entitled, "Estrogen and Progestogen Use in Postmenopausal Women: July 2008 Position Statement of The North American Menopause Society," was developed by an advisory panel of 14 clinicians and research experts and was then approved by the NAMS Board of Trustees.
This modified position statement incorporates the most recent evidence regarding HT use for menopause-related symptoms, including vaginal dryness and hot flashes, and also discusses the risks and benefits of HT on sexual function, urinary health, osteoporosis, cardiovascular effects, diabetes, breast and endometrial cancer, and cognition.
"The newest NAMS position statement of hormone therapy considers the current best practice of medicine from a clinical perspective," said Wulf H. Utian, MD, NAMS, a member of the advisory panel that developed the new document.
"The undue fear and confusion generated in recent years by overrepresentation or misinterpretation of clinical studies mandated a clearer explanation of the therapeutic benefit-risk ratio of HT after menopause and how these benefits and risks affect both health providers and the women weighing the use of such therapy.
"The Society has included a broad spectrum of topics related to HT use for postmenopausal women and provided an addendum to understand and explain risk, clarified by the world's most respected experts in the field."
This statement has also been endorsed by the American Medical Women's Association, The Endocrine Society, the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, and the National Women's Health Resource Center.
The new position statement of The North American Menopause Society is available at www.menopause.org/PSHT08.pdf.
SOURCE: The North American Menopause Society
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