WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. ā More than one million American women experience menopause every year but doctors say many are mistaken about the safest option for dealing with unwanted symptoms.
Dr. Claudia Mason, an OB-GYN and certified menopause practitioner with Cleveland Clinic Weston, said many women think the buzzword ābio-identicalā is only for compounded products, which are touted as āall naturalā and safer.
Mason said all hormone replacement therapies are bio-identical, but compounded products are not regulated.
āWhich means that their purity, sterility and shelf life are unknown, so thereās a little bit of risk with that versus and FDA approved formula which has been tested and has some quality control,ā Mason said.
Given the available data, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said that conventional hormone therapy is preferred over compounded treatments.
Lingering effects of COVID-19 documented
A new study looking into the long-term effects of Covid found that people infected with the virus could experience health problems even two years after getting sick.
Researchers said people who were hospitalized with severe infections are at long-term risk for health issues like blood clots, kidney disorders and heart conditions.
Even people who were infected but not hospitalized also have some long-term health risks including higher chances of diabetes, fatigue, and clotting issues.
The findings were published in the Journal Nature Medicine.