This should be encouraging for women, who may be avoiding taking estrogen because of possible adverse effects, said Dr. Prestwood. A group of 106 Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic women over age 65 participated in the study. The group taking the lowest dose had no more side effects than the group taking a placebo, while the two higher doses had more side effects than the groups receiving the placebo or the lowest dose. Decreases in bone turnover among the women who took .25 mg of estradiol were the same as the decreases in the women who took 1 mg. Bone turnover is the bone remodeling cycle in which new bone is formed as older bone is dissolved.
Osteoporosis develops when more bone is dissolved than is formed.
This process thins and weakens bones and puts individuals at serious risk for fractures, which commonly occur to the spine, wrist and hip. More than 10 million Americans have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and about 18 million are likely to develop the osteoporosis. It is possible that different women require different doses of estrogen. However, she cautions women, already being treated with the usual dose, not to arbitrarily lower their doses. For women having problematic side effects, a lower dose may be something to consider, but only after discussing it with their physicians.