{"id":1708,"date":"2020-07-02T10:10:44","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T09:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.balance-menopause.com\/?p=1708"},"modified":"2021-10-07T10:10:54","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T09:10:54","slug":"how-the-us-government-and-the-media-conspired-to-convince-women-that-menopausal-hormone-therapy-was-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.balance-menopause.com\/news\/how-the-us-government-and-the-media-conspired-to-convince-women-that-menopausal-hormone-therapy-was-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"How the US Government and The Media Conspired to Convince Women That Menopausal Hormone Therapy Was Dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published:<\/strong> 2nd July 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor James Simon<\/a> is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Reproductive Endocrinology at George Washington University in Washington DC and also the President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH)<\/a> and Past President of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS)<\/a>. The Professor recently gave a lecture explaining how medical journalism and the media have been misrepresenting HRT as dangerous, particularly since the WHI (Women’s Health Initiative) study was first publicised in 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of his talk, entitled “How the US Government and The Media Conspired to Convince Women That Menopausal Hormone Therapy Was Dangerous<\/a>“, Professor Simon said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The well-intentioned, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored Women\u2019s Health Initiative (WHI) consists of a series of investigations developed in the 1990s to answer complicated women\u2019s health questions. The impact of menopausal hormone therapy on cardiovascular disease, the #1 killer of women, being exemplary.<\/p>

The first results were publicised in July 2002 at a press conference and followed by a flurry of papers in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Recent reviews and expos\u00e9s, newer publications from the NIH, and re-analyses reveal unconscionable bias and spin in the initial reporting. A pattern of scandalous perfunctory reviews by JAMA validated the biased presentation of the data and undermined the peer-review process and credibility of that journal. This lecture, meant for a diverse professional audience, is my attempt to provide balance and focus on how these revered institutions (NIH, JAMA, FDA, etc.) need to be held accountable for misleading the world\u2019s women about menopausal hormone therapy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The enlightening hour-long lecture aims to give the audience a better understanding of the true benefits and risks of HRT and to acknowledge common myths that have stemmed from the original misrepresented data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Louise Newson said “I honestly feel that all healthcare professionals (and all menopausal women) should watch this, to have a really balanced understanding of what went wrong with the misreporting of HRT risks to both the public, and the medical literature. [Professor Simon’s] knowledge of statistics is incredible and this lecture is certainly one of the best I have ever heard”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who have viewed the lecture should be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n