Letter to the editor re: SOGC clinical guidelines for menopause

Submitted to the Globe and Mail January 23, 2009

To the editor,

For those of us looking out for women’s health, and not increased sales of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), it is disturbing to hear the assertion by the Society for Obstetricians and Gynecologists that health concerns about HRT are unfounded ("HRT safe to treat menopause, MDs say," January 23, 2009). Other recommendations in the SOGC’s clinical guidelines are also alarming, as are the statements that women have been missing out or have not been properly treated for menopausal symptoms since 2002 when the Women’s Health Initiative revealed the harmful effects of HRT to women’s long-term health.

So, now we are told it’s safe to go back to HRT again—that the research overstated the potential for harm. Based on what? A “re-analysis” of the Women’s Health Initiative research by SOGC researchers who have revealed their affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. What about the sharp decline in breast cancer cases since 2003 that has been attributed to a drop in HRT use?

We the public need a critical analysis of these guidelines by researchers that are truly independent of the pharmaceutical industry, and we need it now! The headlines running in Canada’s dailies this week are misleading and potentially harmful. Fortunately, many women understand the ubiquitous influence of the pharmaceutical industry on our health care system and are taking control of their own health, not by blindly following such guidelines, but by asking questions and not forgetting the sound research done by the WHI. We look forward to reading critical analyses of these guidelines in future articles.

Sincerely,

Ellen Reynolds
Director of Communications
Canadian Women's Health Network

 

Posted: January 23, 2009