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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you're one of the millions of women who have decided to forego hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the wake of reports linking the treatment to increased cancer risks, now may finally be the time for a lifestyle change.
University of Pittsburgh researchers find women who stop HRT can minimize potential ill effects on their hearts -- which the treatment is supposed to prevent -- simply by losing weight and exercising more.
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The study compared 240 women who were initially taking HRT and randomized to either a health education or a lifestyle change group. During the 18 month study, 110 women continued taking HRT and the other 130 stopped taking it.
Women in the lifestyle change group lost weight, lowered their body mass indexes, dropped inches from their waists, and lowered both their total cholesterol and LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. They also exercised more.
Women in the health education group who quit taking HRT saw their total and LDL cholesterol levels rise significantly. No such increase was seen in women in the lifestyle change group who also decided to stopped taking HRT. Higher cholesterol levels are a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
"These results have important public health implications and suggest that a non-pharmacological lifestyle approach is both safe and effective for CVD risk factor reduction in postmenopausal women, especially those who discontinued HRT use," study author Kelley K. Pettee, Ph.D., who is now at the University of Arizona, was quoted as saying.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published online May 15, 2007
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