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 estrogens and coronary heart disease: the Women's Health Initiative.
BACKGROUND In recent r and omized trials , conjugated equine estrogens ( CEE ) with continuous medroxyprogesterone acetate provided no protection against coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women and may have increased cardiac risk . These trials did not address the role of unopposed estrogen for coronary protection . METHODS A total of 10 739 women aged 50 to 79 years at baseline ( mean age , 63.6 years ) who had previously undergone hysterectomy were r and omized to receive CEE  , 0.625 mg/d , or  placebo at 40 US clinical centers beginning in 1993 . The trial was terminated early after 6.8 years of follow-up ( planned duration , 8.5 years ) . This report includes final , central ly adjudicated results for the primary efficacy outcome ( myocardial infa rct ion or coronary death ) , secondary coronary outcomes , and subgroup analyses . RESULTS During the active intervention period , 201 coronary events were confirmed among women assigned to receive CEE compared with 217 events among women assigned to receive placebo ( hazard ratio , 0.95 ; nominal 95 % confidence interval , 0.79 - 1.16 ) . Among women aged 50 to 59 years at baseline , the hazard ratio for the primary outcome was 0.63 ( nominal 95 % confidence interval , 0.36 - 1.08 ) . In that age group , coronary revascularization was less frequent among women assigned to receive CEE ( hazard ratio , 0.55 ; nominal 95 % confidence interval , 0.35 - 0.86 ) , as were several composite outcomes , which included the primary outcome and coronary revascularization ( hazard ratio , 0.66 ; nominal 95 % confidence interval , 0.44 - 0.97 ) . CONCLUSIONS Conjugated equine estrogens provided no overall protection against myocardial infa rct ion or coronary death in generally healthy postmenopausal women during a 7-year period of use . There was a suggestion of lower coronary heart disease risk with CEE among women 50 to 59 years of age at baseline
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 .