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 .
Vascular Effects of Early versus Late Postmenopausal Treatment with Estradiol.
BACKGROUND Data suggest that estrogen-containing hormone therapy is associated with beneficial effects with regard to cardiovascular disease when the therapy is initiated temporally close to menopause but not when it is initiated later . However , the hypothesis that the cardiovascular effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy vary with the timing of therapy initiation ( the hormone-timing hypothesis ) has not been tested . METHODS A total of 643 healthy postmenopausal women were stratified according to time since menopause ( < 6 years [ early postmenopause ] or ≥10 years [ late postmenopause ] ) and were r and omly assigned to receive either oral 17β-estradiol ( 1 mg per day , plus progesterone [ 45 mg ] vaginal gel administered sequentially [ i.e. , once daily for 10 days of each 30-day cycle ] for women with a uterus ) or placebo ( plus sequential placebo vaginal gel for women with a uterus ) . The primary outcome was the rate of change in carotid-artery intima-media thickness ( CIMT ) , which was measured every 6 months . Secondary outcomes included an assessment of coronary atherosclerosis by cardiac computed tomography ( CT ) , which was performed when participants completed the r and omly assigned regimen . RESULTS After a median of 5 years , the effect of estradiol , with or without progesterone , on CIMT progression differed between the early and late postmenopause strata ( P=0.007 for the interaction ) . Among women who were less than 6 years past menopause at the time of r and omization , the mean CIMT increased by 0.0078 mm per year in the placebo group versus 0.0044 mm per year in the estradiol group ( P=0.008 ) . Among women who were 10 or more years past menopause at the time of r and omization , the rates of CIMT progression in the placebo and estradiol groups were similar ( 0.0088 and 0.0100 mm per year , respectively ; P=0.29 ) . CT measures of coronary-artery calcium , total stenosis , and plaque did not differ significantly between the placebo group and the estradiol group in either postmenopause stratum . CONCLUSIONS Oral estradiol therapy was associated with less progression of sub clinical atherosclerosis ( measured as CIMT ) than was placebo when therapy was initiated within 6 years after menopause but not when it was initiated 10 or more years after menopause . Estradiol had no significant effect on cardiac CT measures of atherosclerosis in either postmenopause stratum . ( Funded by the National Institute on Aging , National Institutes of Health ; ELITE Clinical Trials.gov number , NCT00114517 . )
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 .