Hormonal therapy not good for diabetics

According to a recent research diabetic women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a higher risk of heart disease and are more likely to die than diabetic women not taking the hormones. They are at a significantly increased risk of ischaemic heart disease (in which blood flow to the heart is reduced) when taking HRT.Researchers at the Hvidovre University Hospital, Denmark investigated the risk of ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarction among women using hormone replacement therapy. They evaluated the effects of HRT, various lifestyle behaviours and health among a group of nearly 20,000 female nurses over the age of 45 years. It was found that as compared to diabetic women who had never taken HRT, diabetic women currently taking hormones had more than triple the risk for death from all causes during the study. The HRT users with diabetes had 4.2 times the risk of heart disease and more than 9 times the risk of heart attack compared to diabetic women who never took HRT. The researchers did not find an elevated risk of death in past hormone users, or in women without diabetes. With regard to non-diabetic women with heart disease, the investigation found that not only were these women not protected against another heart attack but they actually had an increased risk. Current users of hormone replacement therapy smoked more, consumed more alcohol, had lower self rated health, but were slimmer and had a lower prevalence of diabetes than non-users. In current users compared with non-users, hormone replacement therapy had no protective effect on ischaemic heart disease or myocardial infarction whereas current users with diabetes had an increased risk of death, ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarction compared with non-users with diabetes.
The research suggests that if the aim of HRT is to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, women should rather stop smoking, start exercising, and reduce the intake of fat and eat more fruit and vegetables. It is therefore advised that diabetic women taking HRT be informed of the results of this new study and discuss a course of action with their physician.

COMMENT