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 .
Quality-of-life and depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women after receiving hormone therapy: results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) trial.
CONTEXT Postmenopausal hormone therapy is commonly used by women for disease prevention , but its effects on quality of life have not been well documented . OBJECTIVE To determine the effect on quality of life of estrogen plus progestin therapy used as secondary prevention in women with coronary artery disease . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 2763 postmenopausal women with documented coronary artery disease ( mean age , 67 years ) in the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study , a r and omized , placebo-controlled , double-blind trial conducted from January 1993 to July 1998 at outpatient and community setting s at 20 US clinical centers . INTERVENTION Participants were r and omly assigned to receive either 0.625 mg/d of conjugated equine estrogen plus 2.5 mg/d of medroxyprogesterone acetate ( n = 1380 ) or placebo ( n = 1383 ) for 36 months . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Physical activity , measured by the Duke Activity Status Index ; energy/fatigue and mental health , measured by R AND scales ; and depressive symptoms , measured on the Burnam screening scale , at 3 years of follow-up . RESULTS In all patients , scores declined significantly over 3 years for physical function ( -3.8 ; P<.001 ) , mental health ( -0.6 ; P = .05 ) , and energy/fatigue ( -3.8 ; P<.001 ) , but depressive symptoms were not significantly changed ( P = .20 ) . The effect of hormone therapy on these measures depended on the presence ( n = 434 ) or absence ( n = 2325 ) of flushing at study entry . Women with flushing who were assigned to hormone therapy had improved mental health ( + 2.6 vs - 0.5 ; P = .04 ) and fewer depressive symptoms ( -0.5 vs + 0.007 ; P = .01 ) over follow-up compared with those assigned to placebo . Women without flushing who were assigned to hormone therapy had greater declines in physical function ( -4.2 vs -3.3 ; P = .04 ) and energy/fatigue ( -4.6 vs -3.1 ; P = .03 ) over follow-up . Quality -of-life scores were significantly lower among patients with older age , diabetes , hypertension , chest pain , or heart failure . These differences in quality of life among women classified by clinical characteristics were much greater than the effects of hormone therapy . CONCLUSION Hormone therapy has mixed effects on quality of life among older women . The effects of hormone therapy depend on the presence of menopausal symptoms ; women without flushing had greater declines in physical measures , while women with flushing had improvements in emotional measures of quality of life
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 .