A H MacLennan

Dr A H MacLennan, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; alastair.maclennan@adelaide.edu.au

STUDY DESIGN

Design:

randomised controlled trial (Women’s International Study of long Duration Oestrogen after Menopause [WISDOM]).

Allocation:

concealed.*

Blinding:

blinded ({patients, healthcare providers}†, and outcome assessors).*

Setting:

384 general practices in the UK, 91 in Australia, and 24 in New Zealand.

STUDY QUESTION

Patients:

5692 women, 50–69 years of age (mean age 63 y), who were postmenopausal and achieved 80% compliance during a 12-week run-in period. Exclusion criteria included previous breast cancer; cancer other than basal or squamous cell skin cancer within the past 10 years; endometriosis or endometrial hyperplasia; venous thromboembolism (VTE); current gall stones; and ⩾1 of the following within the past 6 months—myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina, cerebrovascular accident, subarachnoid haemorrhage, transient ischaemic attack, or …