"Women will live about 40% of their lives in menopause. How can we not treat a woman knowing that she will have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's, more depression" and a higher probability of osteoporotic fracture of the femoral neck, questioned the clinical pathologist, specialist in anti-aging medicine and hormonal modulation.

In an interview with Lusa regarding World Women's Health Day, which is being celebrated this week, the specialist lamented that many doctors associate hormone therapy with breast cancer, confusing bioidentical hormones with non-bioidentical hormones.

"Bioidentical hormone is a hormone that is chemically equal to ours. (...) We cannot confuse one with the other," she warned.

As she explained, the study that associated hormone therapy with breast cancer, from 2002, was based on the hormones that were being used at the time in the United States, which "have nothing to do" with current bioidentical hormones.

In addition, it was "very biased", because it included women from 50 to 79 years old, many of them already with degenerations.

Ivone Mirpuri said that the risk of breast cancer in women who take bioidentical hormone replacement is even slightly lower than in those who do not because this therapy reduces 'stress', which can potentiate cancer.

To the criticism that there is a lack of studies on this therapy, the specialist responds that bioidentical hormones have been used for over 60 years, some like desiccated pig thyroid, the first bioidentical hormone used, have been used for over 100 years.

"Hormone therapy is protective and does not cause cancer," said the doctor. It protects against osteoporosis, cardiovascular risk, reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 40%, reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, and stimulates the entire innate immune system.

Recalling that 25% of femoral neck fractures due to osteoporosis result in death in the first year, the doctor questioned: "Tell me if you know of any therapy that is so cheap that prevents so many diseases at the same time, which causes so much mortality in women".

According to Ivone Mirpuri, only 30% of women in menopause have hot flashes, but all will suffer from other symptoms, such as vaginal dryness, mucosal atrophy, urinary incontinence, decreased libido, greater sagging of the skin on the face and body, feeling of an empty head, with lack of concentration and lack of memory.

In 70% there is an increase in high blood pressure and cholesterol begins to rise in an attempt to supply the hormones that are no longer produced in menopause.

Without hormones, women will have more dementia, more depression, more allergies, worse sleep quality, body aches.

The consequence is the overmedication of these women, with anxiolytics, antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, anti-hypertensives, antihistamines and analgesics, she lamented.

"What I see in my 16 years of clinical practice doing this therapy is that women are mistreated because doctors understand that hormones cause cancer, which is wrong".

The doctor acknowledged that many doctors use non-bioidentical hormones, which carry risks when associated with unhealthy lifestyles, but reiterated that bioidentical hormones are protective of health.

And she stressed that hormone therapy must be associated with other important pillars, including taking food supplements and avoiding unhealthy lifestyles such as consuming coffee, tobacco, alcohol, anxiolytics and antidepressants, some of which increase the risk of breast cancer.

"The same doctor who is afraid to give hormones to women will give antidepressants," she criticized.

And she concluded: "We have to change the national scenario and it is a woman's right to be treated in menopause, so that we do not have what we have increasingly in our country: an overmedicated society with anxiolytics and antidepressants, unproductive, dependent and unhappy".

Read Also: Six things you need to do before entering menopause (Portuguese version)