The results of a comprehensive study show that HRT actually increased urinary incontinence in women who have it, and HRT caused urinary incontinence in women who were symptom-free.
More than 27,000 women studied
Women’s Health Initiative {WHI} studied more than 27,000 post-menopausal women from 50 to 79 years of age, 23,296 of whom had symptoms of urinary incontinence at the start of the trial.
The women were randomly chosen to receive either estrogen plus progestin, estrogen alone, or a placebo.
The study measured the symptoms that occurred within one year of beginning HRT.
HRT found to cause urinary incontinence
The study found that HRT increased the incidence of urinary incontinence among women who were continent at the start of the trial.
The study researchers reported that the incidence of developing stress incontinence, which is urinary incontinence triggered by coughing or heavy lifting, more than doubled for women who were given estrogen alone, compared to the women who received placebos.
HRT increased urinary incontinence in women who have it
Among women who already had symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI), the study found that both estrogen alone and estrogen with progestin made their UI symptoms worse.
The study also found that women taking HRT were more likely to report that urinary incontinence limited their daily activities.
Estrogen plus progestin had better results than estrogen alone
Researchers reported that study participants who received a combination of estrogen and progestin had lower increases in risk for stress incontinence or mixed incontinence than women who received estrogen alone.
The study also reports that the combination of estrogen and progestin appeared to cause no increase in risk for urge incontinence when compared to a placebo.
Study conclusion: Don’t prescribe HRT for urinary incontinence
The study found that after one year of treatment, estrogen alone and estrogen with progestin increased the risk of urinary incontinence among continent women, and worsened the characteristics of urinary incontinence among women who already have urinary incontinence.
The researchers recommend that estrogen, with or without progestin, “should not be prescribed for the prevention or relief of urinary incontinence”.
For more information
The findings of this study were published in the February 23, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Research: Susan L. Hendrix, DO; Barbara B. Cochrane, RN, PhD; Ingrid E. Nygaard, MD; Victoria L. Handa, MD; Vanessa M. Barnabei, MD, PhD; Cheryl Iglesia, MD; Aaron Aragaki, MS; Michelle J. Naughton, PhD; Robert B. Wallace, MD; S. Gene McNeeley, MD.
