[Elizabeth Barrett-Connor] called the research "important," particularly because it shows that estrogen users live longest when they take the hormone for many years at a dose of 0.625 milligrams daily, half the once-common dose. The lower dose protects against heart disease while minimizing the cancer risk, [Ronald Ross] said.

Women who used estrogen at some time after menopause had death rates 20 percent below those who never took the hormone. Women who took estrogen at least the last 15 years had death rates 40 percent below non-users. This means that postmenopausal women who have ever used estrogen live about 1.2 years longer than non-users, and long-term users live 2 1/2 years longer than non-users, Ross said.