Postmenopausal women smokers from both rural and urban areas are being sought for a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study of hormone replacement therapy. Some study visits will take place at UNC-CH, while the rest will be at local health departments. After menopause, women's bodies stop producing these hormones, which help protect them from osteoporosis and heart disease. No previous researchers have looked at estrogen replacement in women who smoke except in observational studies not considered definitive but which suggest smokers might benefit the most.
Cardiovascular disease includes heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for both men and women, killing twice as many women each year as all cancers combined. A Boston study of more than 120,000 U.S. nurses indicated that receiving estrogen after menopause might cut the heart attack risk in half for women in general, she said. Many doctors decline to give estrogen to postmenopausal women who smoke, however, because of outdated research showing possible harmful effects in smokers from certain discontinued oral contraceptives high in estrogen. They also hope to learn whether it's more beneficial to receive estrogen by mouth or by skin patch. Health departments, and rural health departments in particular, have been wonderful in cooperating so that we can minimize the number of trips rural women have to make to Chapel Hill to participate.