Jacques Rossouw is a South African-born physician and epidemiologist. He retired as head of the Women's Health Initiative,[1][2][3][4][5][6] and is based in Washington, D.C.[7] (wikipedia)
I can see how a lot of women might be confused. People would like very clear results with a very clear health message, and, unfortunately, these results are not very clear.
I can see how a lot of women might be confused.
I think we should have lowered expectations of what a lifestyle intervention trial can show over a relatively short period of time. Against a climate of less research funding overall, it's going to be harder to do these kinds of trials in the future.
The study is poised to capitalize on the huge advances that have been made in the field of genomics. The best may be yet to come.
This study shows that just reducing total fat intake does not go far enough to have an impact on heart disease risk.
We as scientists need to be responsible in our public health messages, and provide a balance. But the media picked up the message as the fact these trials are overturning conventional wisdom. They haven't.
I wouldn't worry about the headlines today. There's something happening here. If we persist a little longer, we'll nail it.
We don't see these as null studies. There are strong suggestions the benefits will show themselves.
These findings are reassuring for women who want to use these hormones around the age of menopause in the short term for the relief of symptoms.
These are secondary analyses and are exploratory to some extent.
