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 .
Hormone Therapy and Venous Thromboembolism Among Postmenopausal Women: Impact of the Route of Estrogen Administration and Progestogens: The ESTHER Study
Background — Oral estrogen therapy increases the risk of  venous thromboembolism ( VTE ) in postmenopausal women .  Transdermal estrogen may be safer . However , currently available data have limited the ability to investigate the wide variety of types of progestogen . Methods and Results — We performed a multicenter case – control study of VTE among postmenopausal women 45 to 70 years of age between 1999 and 2005 in France . We recruited 271 consecutive cases with a first documented episode of idiopathic VTE ( 208 hospital cases , 63 outpatient cases ) and 610 controls ( 426 hospital controls , 184 community controls ) matched for center , age , and admission date . After adjustment for potential confounding factors , odds ratios ( ORs ) for VTE in current users of oral and transdermal estrogen compared with nonusers were 4.2 ( 95 % CI , 1.5 to 11.6 ) and 0.9 ( 95 % CI , 0.4 to 2.1 ) , respectively . There was no significant association of VTE with micronized progesterone and pregnane derivatives ( OR , 0.7 ; 95 % CI , 0.3 to 1.9 and OR , 0.9 ; 95 % CI , 0.4 to 2.3 , respectively ) . In contrast , norpregnane derivatives were associated with a 4-fold-increased VTE risk ( OR , 3.9 ; 95 % CI , 1.5 to 10.0 ) . Conclusions — Oral but not transdermal estrogen is associated with an increased VTE risk . In addition , our data suggest that norpregnane derivatives may be thrombogenic , whereas micronized progesterone and pregnane derivatives appear safe with respect to thrombotic risk . If confirmed , these findings could benefit women in the management of their menopausal symptoms with respect to the VTE risk associated with oral estrogen and use of progestogens
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 .