BACKGROUND: Results of 2 trials of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) challenged established practice patterns; 1 was not associated
with changes in HT use, whereas the other was associated with substantial decline. Differential coverage by lay newspapers
may have contributed to the differential impact.
OBJECTIVE: To examine newspaper coverage of HT before and after the publication of the Heart and Estrogen Replacement Study (HERS) in
August 1998, and the main findings of the estrogen plus progestin therapy arm of the Women’s Health Initiative (EPT-WHI) in
July 2002.
DESIGN: Longitudinal review of newspaper articles, 1998 to 2003 (n=663).
SETTING: Twenty local and 6 regional/national newspapers.
MEASUREMENTS: Number and content of articles about HT.
RESULTS: The average number of articles about HT published during the month of the publication of the EPT-WHI was at least 8-fold
greater than the number of articles published on the topic during any prior period. While the majority of articles in all
periods presented information about the potential benefits of HT, information about harms became more common than information
about benefits during the 2 months before the publication of the EPT-WHI, when the trial participants were notified of the
early termination of the study. The presentation of specific health harms was more common after the publication of the EPT-WHI
than after the publication of HERS. Few articles in any period used visual aids.
CONCLUSIONS: The publication of the EPT-WHI was associated with a change in both the volume and content of newspaper coverage about HT.
Key words hormone therapy - lay media - drug usage
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare for this paper.
Source of Funding: This work was supported by NCI-funded Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium co-operative agreements (U01
CA063731, U01 CA63740, U01 CA70013, U01 CA86076, U01 CA86082).