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Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)

Meaning

A landmark, long-term national health study sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) that began in 1991, primarily focused on the major causes of death and disability in postmenopausal women, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. The clinical trial component, specifically the hormone therapy trials, profoundly influenced the global medical consensus and clinical practice regarding the use of estrogen and progestin. Its findings continue to shape the risk-benefit analysis in modern hormonal prescribing.