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Some providers say hormone therapy can prevent a host of issues. Menopause Society is pushing back

Dictionary definition of the word menopause.
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Coverage of aging is supported in part by AARP Arizona

The Menopause Society recently came out with a statement clarifying its stance on the use of hormone therapy, or HT. That's because there’s been a significant increase in misinformation and disinformation about what HT can be used for.

The good news? There’s much more awareness about menopause, specifically HT. The bad news? There’s a lot of misinformation being pushed out by some medical providers.

"For so long, we've been advocating to really clarify that hormone therapy remains first-line therapy for management of bothersome vasomotor symptoms, those hot flashes and night sweats," said Dr. Jewel Kling, the chair of the Division of Women's Health Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic.

"But now it seems like some women are starting to advocate for hormone therapy as a tool to prevent all things: to prevent heart disease, to prevent dementia, to prevent joint pain symptoms and things like this," Kling said.

Kling says there isn’t enough evidence to show that HT prevents any of that. So the hope is the statement gives both providers and women clear information.

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.
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