| Estrogen
and Disease
Facts about
estrogen and cardiovascular disease:
Physicians now know that estrogen helps protect women against heart
disease, which is critical as more American women die of heart disease
than any other disease. When a woman’s body is producing estrogen, her
risk of having a heart attack is much lower than a man’s. However, by
the time a woman is 65 years old, her risk of heart attack equals a
man’s because she no longer produces estrogen.
How does
estrogen protect against heart disease?
There are several ways that estrogen protects the body from heart
disease. First, it reduces the body's total cholesterol level by regulating
the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver. This, in turn, raises
the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level, commonly referred to as the
"good" cholesterol, and lowers the low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) level, or "bad" cholesterol. (The LDL is the cholesterol
that builds up in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack,
while HDL helps to prevent blockage from occurring in the arteries.)
Several clinical
studies over the past 15 years have shown that women who use estrogen
after menopause significantly reduce their risk of developing and dying
from heart disease. A 1991 study showed that estrogen replacement reduced
the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by almost 50 percent,
with actual overall deaths reduced by 40 percent. Some researchers believe
this is because of estrogen’s ability to maintain HDL and LDL levels
at healthier, premenopausal levels. In most cases, this protection lasts
for as long as the woman is taking estrogen.
Facts
about estrogen and stroke:
Today, there is growing evidence that estrogen replacement therapy
may decrease the incidence of stroke, another deadly disease that affects
many elderly women. Most strokes are caused by the same type of arterial
disease that causes heart attacks. One study showed that estrogen replacement
therapy decreased the incidence of stroke by 30 to 40 percent in postmenopausal
women. Further research in this area continues.
Facts about
estrogen and Alzheimer’s disease:
Estrogen is important to the building and maintenance of nerve networks
in the brain from early on in life. Several studies are now pointing
to the fact that estrogen may offer protection against Alzheimer’s disease
in postmenopausal women. One study conducted on almost 90,000 postmenopausal
women found that those taking estrogen had a significantly longer life
and by the time of their deaths, the women on estrogen had a 40 percent
lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. In another related study, estrogen
was also associated with a significantly decreased occurrence of the
disease. In addition, those women who did develop Alzheimer’s disease
and were on estrogen replacement therapy seemed to have a milder form
of the disease. Additional studies are being conducted to determine
just what the protective nature of estrogen is in its relationship with
Alzheimer’s disease.
Facts
about estrogen and osteoporosis:
Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. Estrogen
deficiency is one significant cause of accelerated bone loss in women
during and after menopause, and is the major cause of bone fractures
in postmenopausal women.
How does menopause
affect osteoporosis?
Bone mass reduction accelerates during menopause - demonstrating a clear
relationship between the level of estrogen in a woman’s body and the
speed at which osteoporosis develops. After menopause, a woman’s risk
for osteoporosis is greatly increased. The sudden loss of estrogen leads
to bone loss of between 2 and 5 percent for at least five to ten years
after menopause.
Preventing
osteoporosis:
Bone loss generally begins after age 35. It is important for women of
all ages to build bone mass with weight-bearing exercises such as walking,
running, and lifting weights. Physicians also recommend diets rich in
calcium and vitamin D. In addition, it is generally recommended that
women take in at least 1,000 mg of calcium before menopause and 1,500
mg after menopause.
Estrogen replacement
therapy and non-hormonal medications may help prevent osteoporosis,
although these medications cannot reverse bone loss once it has occurred.
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