Category Archives: In the News

The Latest Bad Rap on Supplements: What Does This Week’s Study Mean to Women?

Yesterday, I set out to write about the latest findings of a government-funded research study that concluded that in older women, several commonly used dietary vitamin and mineral supplements may do more harm than good; even, in some cases, causing a small increase in the risk of death.

Death?  Really?  From Vitamin B6 and multivitamins?

There must be more to this than was being reported, so I decided to go to the source, The Archives of Internal Medicine, where the findings were published,  and read the study myself.   Here’s what I learned.

First: The Facts

Researchers assessed the use of 15 vitamin and mineral supplements (including multivitamins, Vitamins B6, C and D, folic acid, magnesium, Iron and Calcium) in relation to total mortality in nearly 39,000 women in the Iowa Women’s Health Study. The participants were just under 62 years of age when they began the study in 1986.  Supplement use, which was self-reported via a health questionnaire three times over 19 years, was widespread among these women and increased over the years.

In yesterday’s news reports about this study, we learned that the researchers found a small increase in the risk of death among older women who took dietary supplements compared with those who didn’t.  However, what wasn’t reported in many news … [Read more]

The New Vitamin D Dosage Guidelines: Now What?

The Institute of Medicine panel that has been deliberating for several years over how much Vitamin D we should take finally issued their guidelines this week and though it was increased to 600 IU daily  for Americans and Canadians up to age 70 (up from 200 in 1997), it was much lower than what many doctors and medical groups thought they would and should recommend. There doesn’t seem to be any squabble over the importance of vitamin D to our health.  It is essential for bone health and there is ample evidence to suggest that  it can help prevent the development of some cancers (breast, prostate, colon); contribute to cardiovascular health; and stimulate immune responses to infectious diseases. The debate is about how much is needed to realize vitamin D’s full benefits. … [Read more]

Beyond Free RX Samples: Now Doctors Dispense Big Pharma’s Sponsored Advice in the Exam Room

Advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs saturate  the airwaves, appear in magazines and even show up online. Now, if my doctor’s office is any indication, the examination room is the latest territory to be invaded by commercial messages for prescription drugs.

While waiting for my physician, I saw a new wall display containing a collection of ten brochures on a wide range of health topics, including menopause. Branded as “Healthy Advice,” it acknowledged “the generous sponsors who support this educational program.” I was already skeptical but curious.  I picked up the booklet on Menopause and turned to the back page to confirm who I thought the sponsor would be. Pfizer. Yes! I knew it.  They are the makers of the hormone therapy replacement drug, Prempro, which contains estrogens from horse urine and Progestin, a synthetic form of Progesterone.  Inside, under “latest findings,” the authors caution us against using soy to ease menopause symptoms because “the benefits are still questionable.”  They also caution us against trying a vitamin, supplement or other natural product to help with symptoms since “some of these may make things worse.” The brochure also advises patients on hormone therapy to “take the smallest dose that works for you for the shortest amount of time. This helps lessen the risks.”

Those hormone replacement therapy risks, barely alluded to in the sponsored brochure, were explained in greater detail today in front-page news stories about the results of an 8-year follow-up study of nearly 13,000 women who participated in the federally financed Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). That study was halted in 2002, three years ahead of schedule, when researchers saw that the hormones were causing an increased risk of breast cancer, strokes and blood clots in the lungs.  This is the first report from the WHI that includes death rates from breast cancer related to hormone use. … [Read more]

Belly Fat Can Be Deadly!

A large waistline isn’t just uncomfortable, or unattractive.  It can be deadly- even for people who have a normal body mass index (BMI), say researchers at the American Cancer Society, which funded and conducted a study that investigated the health repercussions of a bulging belly. They found that men and women over 50 years of age, with the biggest waistlines, have twice the risk of dying over a decade compared with those with the smallest bellies.  Those with bigger waists had a higher risk of death from causes including respiratory illnesses, heart disease and breast and colorectal cancer.

Of all the studies I’ve read about, this one hit home the most:  it wasn’t funded by a company trying to sell us something (which in my book makes it more credible) and it addressed the issue of belly fat, which, as a result of the natural redistribution of body fat during the menopause transition, puts mid-life w0men at risk for a number of diseases.  How do you know how much body fat is too much?  Measure your waistline.  If it’s more than 35 inches, you’ve got a problem. … [Read more]

FDA Advises Careful Use of Evamist

Not too long ago, a friend of mine told me that her puppies (PUPPIES!) went into heat, apparently as a result of their being exposed to the topical hormone cream that she was using on her lower arms.  It seemed odd to me and not worth writing about since, after all, how often does THAT happen?  Well, just over a week ago, the FDA issued a statement warning users of Evamist that this spray-on menopause treatment could indeed harm pets and children if they come in direct contact with it. Evamist contains estradiol, an estrogen hormone. It’s sprayed on the inside of the lower arm and is used to treat menopause-related hot flashes.  Since it was approved three years ago, the FDA has received eight reports of “adverse events” in children aged 3 to 5 who were unintentionally exposed to the drug. They define “adverse events” as premature puberty, nipple swelling and breast development in females and breast enlargement in males. Eight reports isn’t exactly a crisis, but I bet there are more unreported incidents of these “events” that cause a lot of worry, doctors appointments and unnecessary medical tests. … [Read more]

Another Reason to Use Bisphosphonates With Caution

Add broken bones to the list of possible side effects of the popular Osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, which millions of women take to prevent bone fractures and bone loss associated with menopause.  There have already been warnings that bisphosphonate drugs, including Actonel, Reclast and Boniva, can cause severe musculoskeletal pain and a serious bone-related jaw disease called osteonecrosis. There were even concerns in 2008 about related heart problems.

ABC News reported  earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been aware of reports of spontaneous fractures, but did not inform the public or doctors who prescribe bisphosphonates of the possible side effect.  An FDA spokesman explained to ABC News that they didn’t think it was necessary at this time.  However, today, the FDA announced  that it will indeed investigate the possibility of a link between long-term use of osteoporosis drugs and thigh bone fractures though, “at this point, the data that FDA has reviewed have not shown a clear connection between bisphosphonate use and a risk of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures,” the statement said. … [Read more]

Arkansas Woman Prevails Against Wyeth in Appeals Court

News came today that an appeals court has upheld a jury’s finding last year that Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs helped cause an Arkansas woman’s breast cancer.  At stake was $27 million in actual damages, an amount that was upheld by the three-judge panel.

The appeals court said “the evidence presented could allow a jury to find or infer that Wyeth was guilty of malicious conduct.”  According to the news report, Pfizer’s lawyers argued that the plaintiff received ample warning about the cancer risks tied to the company’s Prempro and Premarin drugs and chose to continue using them.

The ruling comes a week after a Philadelphia jury ordered Wyeth to pay an undisclosed amount of punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed breast cancer after taking Prempro.   Six million women have taken Wyeth’s hormone therapy drugs for severe menopause symptoms and there are more than 9,000 lawsuits against the company. The menopause drugs are still on the market and many physicians continue to recommend and prescribe them to their patients.You can read the court’s summary of the case here.

Researchers Prove That Exercise Makes You Feel Better

Exercise makes women around the time of menopause feel better, even when they don’t lose weight and even when they devote less time to it than is generally recommended. That’s what researchers concluded at the end of a six-month  controlled study that measured the effect of 50 percent, 100 percent and 150 percent of the physical activity recommendation on 430 sedentary postmenopausal women.

“Our results indicate that improved quality of life can be added to the list of exercise benefits and that these improvements are dose dependent and independent of weight loss, at least among people similar to this study’s sample,” Corby K. Martin, PhD, from Louisiana State University System, in Baton Rouge, and colleagues write.

The study was published in Archives of Internal Medicine, a bi-weekly, international peer-reviewed journal.

A New Non-Hormonal Treatment for Hot Flashes? Not So Fast…

… [Read more]

Multivitamins May, or May Not, Offer Benefits in Postmenopausal Women

As someone who swallows six multi-vitamin tabs every day, I was dismayed to read that “Multivitamin Use May Offer No Benefit in Postmenopausal Women,” the headline of a report that was published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine.  Does that mean everyone, myself included, should stop taking a multi-vitamin?

… [Read more]