Estrogen Redux

The latest report on estrogen isn't bad news so much as it is incomplete news. Early data from a study involving 27,000 women, called the Women's Health Initiative, suggest that taking estrogen by itself or with the drug progestin slightly increases the risk of suffering blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.

Although the problem seems to disappear after two years of pill taking, researchers were surprised to find any effect at all. On March 31 they sent a letter to all participants in the study outlining what they know so far. What they can't say until the study is completed in...

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