We found high quality evidence that hormone therapy in both primary and secondary prevention conferred no protective effects for all-cause mortality , cardiovascular death , non-fatal myocardial infa rct ion , angina , or revascularisation .
There was no strong evidence of effect on risk of stroke in this group .
Our review findings provide strong evidence that treatment with hormone therapy in post-menopausal women overall , for either primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease events has little if any benefit and causes an increase in the risk of stroke and venous thromboembolic events
BACKGROUND Evidence from systematic review s of observational studies suggests that hormone therapy may have beneficial effects in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease events in post-menopausal women , however the results of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have had mixed results .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review published in 2013 .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of hormone therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women , and whether there are differential effects between use in primary or secondary prevention .
Secondary aims were to undertake exploratory analyses to ( i ) assess the impact of time since menopause that treatment was commenced ( ≥ 10 years versus < 10 years ) , and where these data were not available , use age of trial participants at baseline as a proxy ( ≥ 60 years of age versus < 60 years of age ) ; and ( ii ) assess the effects of length of time on treatment .
Effect of oral oestriol on vaginal flora and cytology and urogenital symptoms in the post-menopause.
The effect of oral oestriol ( 3 mg/day for 4 weeks followed by 2 mg/day for a further 6 weeks ) on the vaginal bacterial flora , vaginal cytology and urogenital symptoms was assessed in a double-blind , placebo-controlled study in 35 women with symptoms of the urogenital oestrogen deficiency syndrome . No significant differences were observed with regard to the occurrence or severity of urogenital symptoms , vaginal pH , karyopyknotic index ( KPI ) or the baseline results of vaginal bacterial cultures in the 18 patients ( mean age 71.6 + /- 1.0 years ) treated with oestriol and the 17 women ( mean age 72.6 + /- 1.4 years ) who received placebo tablets . A decrease in both vaginal pH ( P less than 0.001 ) and the proportion of faecal-type bacteria ( P less than 0.05 ) , and an increase in the KPI ( P less than 0.01 ) and the proportion of lactobacilli ( P less than 0.001 ) were recorded after 10 weeks of treatment with oral oestriol . At the end of the following 10 medication-free weeks all of these parameters except vaginal pH had returned to values that were not significantly altered from the corresponding baseline levels . In the patients treated with placebo no significant changes occurred in vaginal pH , KPI or the proportion of lactobacilli in vaginal cultures during the course of this study . Urogenital symptoms improved in both groups after medication ( and even after the medication-free period ) in relation to the baseline assessment , which reflects the latter 's subjective nature
We found high quality evidence that hormone therapy in both primary and secondary prevention conferred no protective effects for all-cause mortality , cardiovascular death , non-fatal myocardial infa rct ion , angina , or revascularisation .
There was no strong evidence of effect on risk of stroke in this group .
Our review findings provide strong evidence that treatment with hormone therapy in post-menopausal women overall , for either primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease events has little if any benefit and causes an increase in the risk of stroke and venous thromboembolic events
BACKGROUND Evidence from systematic review s of observational studies suggests that hormone therapy may have beneficial effects in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease events in post-menopausal women , however the results of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have had mixed results .
This is an up date d version of a Cochrane review published in 2013 .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of hormone therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women , and whether there are differential effects between use in primary or secondary prevention .
Secondary aims were to undertake exploratory analyses to ( i ) assess the impact of time since menopause that treatment was commenced ( ≥ 10 years versus < 10 years ) , and where these data were not available , use age of trial participants at baseline as a proxy ( ≥ 60 years of age versus < 60 years of age ) ; and ( ii ) assess the effects of length of time on treatment .