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 .
Conjugated equine estrogen and risk of benign proliferative breast disease: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND Estrogens stimulate proliferation of breast epithelium and may therefore increase the risk of benign proliferative breast disease , a condition that is associated with increased risk of breast cancer . We tested the effect of conjugated equine estrogen ( CEE ) on risk of benign proliferative breast disease in the Women 's Health Initiative ( WHI ) r and omized controlled trial . METHODS In the WHI CEE trial , 10,739 postmenopausal women were r and omly assigned to 0.625 mg/d of CEE or to placebo . Baseline and annual breast examinations and mammograms were required . We identified women in the trial who reported breast biopsies that were free of cancer , obtained the associated histological sections , and subjected them to st and ardized central review . Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios ( HRs ) and 95 % confidence intervals ( CIs ) . All statistical tests were two-sided . RESULTS A total of 232 incident cases of  benign proliferative breast disease  were ascertained during follow-up ( average duration , 6.9 years ) , with 155 in the  CEE  group and 77 in the placebo group . Use of CEE was associated with a more than two-fold increase in the risk of benign proliferative breast disease ( HR = 2.11 , 95 % CI = 1.58 to 2.81 ) . For benign proliferative breast disease without atypia , the HR was 2.34 ( 95 % CI = 1.71 to 3.20 ) , whereas for atypical hyperplasia , it was 1.12 ( 95 % CI = 0.53 to 2.40 ) . Risk varied little by levels of baseline characteristics . CONCLUSION Use of 0.625 mg/d of CEE was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of benign proliferative breast disease
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 .