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 .
The rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study of Younger Women (WHIMS-Y)
The Women 's Health Initiative Memory Study -Younger ( WHIMS-Y ) was design ed to assess the effect of prior r and om assignment to hormone therapy ( HT ) ( conjugated equine estrogen ( CEE ) alone or CEE plus medroxyprogesterone acetate ( MPA ) ) on global cognitive function in younger middle-aged women relative to placebo . WHIMS-Y was an ancillary study to the Women 's Health Initiative ( WHI ) HT trial and enrolled 1361 women who were aged 50 - 55 years and postmenopausal at WHI enrollment . WHIMS-Y will examine whether an average of 5.4 years of HT during early menopause has longer term protective effects on global cognitive function and if these effects vary by regimen , time between menopause and study initiation , and prior use of HT . We present the study rationale and design . We describe enrollment , adherence to assigned WHI therapy , and compare risk factor characteristics of the WHIMS-Y cohort at the time of WHI enrollment to similar aged women in the WHI HT who did not enroll in WHIMS-Y. Challenges of WHIMS-Y include lower than expected and differential enrollment . Strengths of WHIMS-Y include balance in baseline risk factors between treatment groups , st and ardized and masked data collection , and high rates of retention and on-trial adherence and exposure . In addition , the telephone-administered cognitive battery showed adequate construct validity . WHIMS-Y provided an unprecedented chance to examine the hypothesis that HT may have protective effects on cognition in younger postmenopausal women aged 50 - 55 years . Integrated into the WHI , WHIMS-Y optimized the experience of WHI investigators to ensure high retention and excellent quality assurance across sites . This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Hormone Therapy
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 .