Science / Medicine : Estrogen Linked to Longevity

Estrogen replacement therapy reduces the mortality rate of post-menopausal women by at least 20%, USC researchers reported last week in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In a study conducted at Leisure World in Laguna Hills, the researchers also found that the longer women were on the therapy, the lower their mortality rate from all causes, but particularly from heart disease and stroke.

The researchers have spent 7 1/2 years studying 8,881 residents of the retirement community, which is inhabited by a moderately affluent, well-educated population that is almost exclusively white.

They found not only that women who had used estrogen replacement therapy at some time had a 20% reduction in mortality, but also that women who had used it for at least 15 years have a 40% reduction. Mortality also was lower among current users of estrogen than among women who had used it long ago. Previous studies have found a link between estrogen therapy and breast cancer, but the USC researchers found no such link.