Women taking HT had a significantly decreased incidence of fracture with long-term use .
Research ers found no strong evidence that HT has a clinical ly meaningful impact on the incidence of colorectal cancer .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS : Women with intolerable menopausal symptoms may wish to weigh the benefits of symptom relief against the small absolute risk of harm arising from short-term use of low-dose HT , provided they do not have specific contraindications .
HT may be unsuitable for some women , including those at increased risk of cardiovascular disease , increased risk of thromboembolic disease ( such as those with obesity or a history of venous thrombosis ) or increased risk of some types of cancer ( such as breast cancer , in women with a uterus ) .
The risk of endometrial cancer among women with a uterus taking oestrogen-only HT is well documented .
HT is not indicated for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia , nor for prevention of deterioration of cognitive function in postmenopausal women .
Although HT is considered effective for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis , it is generally recommended as an option only for women at significant risk for whom non-oestrogen therapies are unsuitable .
BACKGROUND : Hormone therapy ( HT ) is widely provided for control of menopausal symptoms and has been used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease , osteoporosis and  dementia in older women .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review first published in 2005 .
OBJECTIVES : To assess effects of long-term HT ( at least 1 year 's duration ) on mortality , cardiovascular outcomes , cancer , gallbladder disease , fracture and cognition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women during and after cessation of treatment .
Effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy on cognitive function: the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study.
PURPOSE To determine if hormone therapy results in better cognitive function in older postmenopausal women . SUBJECTS AND METHODS The Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study ( HERS ) was a r and omized , placebo-controlled trial involving 2763 women with coronary disease . Women were assigned r and omly to conjugated estrogen ( 0.625 mg ) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate ( 2.5 mg ) in one tablet daily or identical placebo ; they were followed for a mean ( + /- SD ) of 4.2 + /- 0.4 years . Participants at 10 of the 20 HERS centers were invited to enroll in the cognitive function sub study . At the end of the trial , we measured cognitive function in 517 women in the hormone group and 546 in the placebo group using six st and ard tests : the modified Mini-Mental Status Examination , Verbal Fluency , Boston Naming , Word List Memory , Word List Recall , and Trails B. Cognitive function was not measured at baseline . RESULTS The mean age of participants at the time of cognitive function testing was 71 + /- 6 years . There were no differences in age-adjusted cognitive function test scores between the two treatment groups , except that women assigned to hormones scored worse on the Verbal Fluency test than women assigned to placebo ( 15.9 + /- 4.8 vs. 16.6 + /- 4.8 , P = 0.02 ) . Adjustment for other potential confounders and restriction of the analyses to women who had been adherent to study medication did not change the results . CONCLUSION Among older postmenopausal women with coronary disease , 4 years of treatment with postmenopausal hormone therapy did not result in better cognitive function as measured on six st and ardized tests . Whether these results also apply to elderly women without coronary disease can not be determined from this study
Women taking HT had a significantly decreased incidence of fracture with long-term use .
Research ers found no strong evidence that HT has a clinical ly meaningful impact on the incidence of colorectal cancer .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS : Women with intolerable menopausal symptoms may wish to weigh the benefits of symptom relief against the small absolute risk of harm arising from short-term use of low-dose HT , provided they do not have specific contraindications .
HT may be unsuitable for some women , including those at increased risk of cardiovascular disease , increased risk of thromboembolic disease ( such as those with obesity or a history of venous thrombosis ) or increased risk of some types of cancer ( such as breast cancer , in women with a uterus ) .
The risk of endometrial cancer among women with a uterus taking oestrogen-only HT is well documented .
HT is not indicated for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease or dementia , nor for prevention of deterioration of cognitive function in postmenopausal women .
Although HT is considered effective for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis , it is generally recommended as an option only for women at significant risk for whom non-oestrogen therapies are unsuitable .
BACKGROUND : Hormone therapy ( HT ) is widely provided for control of menopausal symptoms and has been used for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease , osteoporosis and  dementia in older women .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review first published in 2005 .
OBJECTIVES : To assess effects of long-term HT ( at least 1 year 's duration ) on mortality , cardiovascular outcomes , cancer , gallbladder disease , fracture and cognition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women during and after cessation of treatment .