Dr. Rachel Rubin

She may develop osteoporosis, which we know more people die of hip fractures, about the same die of hip fractures as die of breast cancer. So the risk of not taking hormone therapy when you get a hip fracture, as all of your listeners know, going back to the life that you lived is very challenging or you die. There's also the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's much higher in women.

She may develop osteoporosis, which we know more people die of hip fractures, about the same die of hip fractures as die of breast cancer. So the risk of not taking hormone therapy when you get a hip fracture, as all of your listeners know, going back to the life that you lived is very challenging or you die. There's also the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's much higher in women.

And we can argue the data. And I don't think we actually have good data about whether hormones, when to start them and if they're actually protective and how they're protective. But we also know that heart disease is the number one killer of women. And we know that things get worse as you get older. So I think there are significant risks to that person. And from the mental health perspective,

And we can argue the data. And I don't think we actually have good data about whether hormones, when to start them and if they're actually protective and how they're protective. But we also know that heart disease is the number one killer of women. And we know that things get worse as you get older. So I think there are significant risks to that person. And from the mental health perspective,

I think there's no question that we see worsening. Now, I will say perimenopause, from what I understand of the data, is actually worse on mental health and can actually level out a little bit once there's less erratic hormones. But again, an empty gas tank is still an empty gas tank. And so we see a lot of challenges in this time period.

I think there's no question that we see worsening. Now, I will say perimenopause, from what I understand of the data, is actually worse on mental health and can actually level out a little bit once there's less erratic hormones. But again, an empty gas tank is still an empty gas tank. And so we see a lot of challenges in this time period.

The fact that this story hasn't been made into a Hollywood biopic mega drama, I don't know. This is a big deal. A billion dollars of our resources went into doing this study. And there are many things that we learned that were helpful and useful and this huge set of data that we're still using today to extrapolate information from. And there was a lot of good that came from it.

The fact that this story hasn't been made into a Hollywood biopic mega drama, I don't know. This is a big deal. A billion dollars of our resources went into doing this study. And there are many things that we learned that were helpful and useful and this huge set of data that we're still using today to extrapolate information from. And there was a lot of good that came from it.

But there was a lot of misinformation and just really bad marketing or really effective marketing, you could argue. Because what is so wild, Peter, is that when this study came out, they did a press conference. Before the study was published, they did a press conference. Have you ever seen the NIH do a press conference that Matt Lauer talked about or that was made it on Good Morning America?

But there was a lot of misinformation and just really bad marketing or really effective marketing, you could argue. Because what is so wild, Peter, is that when this study came out, they did a press conference. Before the study was published, they did a press conference. Have you ever seen the NIH do a press conference that Matt Lauer talked about or that was made it on Good Morning America?

They did a press conference. I remember I was in medical school at the time. Like, I remember this happening. And they said, OK, we had to stop the study early. It is increasing the risk of breast cancer and increasing the risk of blood clots and cardiovascular disease. And we have to stop the study.

They did a press conference. I remember I was in medical school at the time. Like, I remember this happening. And they said, OK, we had to stop the study early. It is increasing the risk of breast cancer and increasing the risk of blood clots and cardiovascular disease. And we have to stop the study.

There's different statistics out there, but people will say about 40% maybe of women were on hormone therapy at the time. Overnight, it crashed to nothing. You're talking billions of dollars of an industry went to nothing. And the people who are prescribing the hormone therapy were like, this doesn't make any sense. I do this. I've been doing this for 20 years, 30 years.

There's different statistics out there, but people will say about 40% maybe of women were on hormone therapy at the time. Overnight, it crashed to nothing. You're talking billions of dollars of an industry went to nothing. And the people who are prescribing the hormone therapy were like, this doesn't make any sense. I do this. I've been doing this for 20 years, 30 years.

I don't have a clinic full of people who are dying of blood clots or heart attacks or who get breast cancer. Like this is not my clinic. Whose clinic is this?

I don't have a clinic full of people who are dying of blood clots or heart attacks or who get breast cancer. Like this is not my clinic. Whose clinic is this?

Then they published the paper, and as we talked about before we did this podcast, is that they misinterpreted the data so drastically and scared everybody with so much fear that you actually have an entire generation that has forgotten how to prescribe hormone therapy. And this is the nightmare that we're living in today because now we realize that the data was misinterpreted.

Then they published the paper, and as we talked about before we did this podcast, is that they misinterpreted the data so drastically and scared everybody with so much fear that you actually have an entire generation that has forgotten how to prescribe hormone therapy. And this is the nightmare that we're living in today because now we realize that the data was misinterpreted.

So the WHI was one medication, one dose. That's it. And it was a sort of birth control pill style kind of hormone therapy. So a synthetic estrogen and progestin. It was not the, what we call more, and we can talk about the marketing term bioidentical, but the FDA approved products that we use today, like estradiol and progesterone, they're different medications that we use today.

So the WHI was one medication, one dose. That's it. And it was a sort of birth control pill style kind of hormone therapy. So a synthetic estrogen and progestin. It was not the, what we call more, and we can talk about the marketing term bioidentical, but the FDA approved products that we use today, like estradiol and progesterone, they're different medications that we use today.