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 .
NIH asks participants in Women's Health Initiative estrogen-alone study to stop study pills, begin follow-up phase.
The National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) has instructed participants in the estrogen-alone study of the Women ’s Health Initiative ( WHI ) , a large multi-center trial , to stop taking their study pills and to begin the follow-up phase of the study . Letters have been sent to all participants in the estrogenalone study , 11,000 healthy postmenopausal women who have had a hysterectomy , informing them of a recent NIH review of the study data . After careful consideration of the data , NIH has concluded that with an average of nearly 7 years of follow-up completed , estrogen alone does not appear to affect ( either increase or decrease ) heart disease , a key question of the study . At the same time , estrogen alone appears to increase the risk of stroke and decrease the risk of hip fracture . It has not increased the risk of breast cancer during the time period of the study . The increased risk of stroke in the estrogen-alone study is similar to what was found in the WHI study of estrogen plus progestin when that trial was stopped in July 2002 . In that study , women taking estrogen plus progestin had 8 more strokes per year for every 10,000 women than those taking the placebo . The NIH believes that an increased risk of stroke is not acceptable in healthy women in a research study . This is especially true if estrogen alone does not affect ( either increase or decrease ) heart disease , as appears to be the case in the current study . The NIH has determined that the results would not likely change if the estrogen trial continued to its planned completion in 2005 . Furthermore , enough data have been obtained to assess the overall risks and benefits of the use of estrogen in this trial . WHI research ers have begun a detailed analysis of the data from the estrogen-alone study and expect to report full results in the next two months . The report , to be published in a peer- review ed journal , will include additional data collected through the end of February 2004 . A separate report will contain information on  probable dementia or mild cognitive impairment in the women age 65 and older who participated in the estrogen-alone WHI-Memory Study ( WHIMS ) , an ancillary study of the WHI Hormone Trials . Preliminary data suggest that for the WHIMS participants who were on estrogen  alone when compared to the women who were taking the placebo , there was a trend toward increased risk of probable dementia and /or mild cognitive impairment . The WHI estrogen study was design ed to assess the effect of long-term use of hormone therapy in healthy postmenopausal women on the prevention of heart disease and hip fractures , and any associated change in risk for breast cancer . It was not design ed to evaluate the short-term risks and benefits of hormones for the treatment of moderate to severe menopausal symptoms . The estrogen-alone study involved women ages 50 to 79 years . Study participants were r and omly assigned to a daily dose of estrogen—0.625 mg/day of conjugated equine estrogen — or a placebo . The NIH decision to stop the estrogen-alone trial was made on February 2 , 2004 . In November and December 2003 , the WHI Data and Safety Monitoring Board ( DSMB ) , an independent advisory committee which regularly review s study data and oversees the safety of study participants , review ed the latest data from the estrogen-alone study . The DSMB was split as to whether the study pills should be stopped or whether the pills should be continued , provided that a letter would be sent to the participants clearly informing them of the stroke risks and other findings . After careful review , the NIH decided that women in the estrogen-alone study should stop taking their study pills . From the National Heart , Lung , and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health
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 .