Harvard Health Content API

A landmark study that found hormone therapy may harm rather than help women after menopause cost the U.S. government $260 million. But the study results transformed medical practice. And that saved the health care system $37 billion, a new analysis concludes. That’s $140 for every dollar spent. The National Institutes of Health funded the study, called the Women’s Health Initiative. Older women, average age 63, were randomly assigned to receive either hormone treatment or placebo (fake) pills. The study was halted early, in 2002. Women taking estrogen plus progesterone had higher rates of heart attack, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer than those who got the placebo. There was no effect on heart attack or breast cancer rates in a second group of women who were given estrogen only. But they also had higher risks of stroke and blood clots.

Many parents are still following infant sleep practices that could put their babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), two new studies conclude. One study looked at survey data for nearly 400,000 infants. About two-thirds of the babies born at term were put to sleep on their backs. This position reduces the risk of SIDS. Preterm babies, born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, have a higher risk of SIDS than those born at term. But the survey showed they were less likely than full-term infants to be put on their backs to sleep (60% to 63%). The second study included 1,250 mothers of babies 2 months to 6 months old. They were interviewed about sleep practices for their babies. Overall, 72% of the babies were put to sleep on their backs. But 22% of black mothers put babies to sleep on their stomachs. About 28% of Hispanic mothers put the baby to sleep in the parents’ bed.