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 .
Determinants of the effect of estrogen on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis: Estrogen in the Prevention of Atherosclerosis Trial
Objective : To determine the extent to which the estrogen-induced changes in lipids and markers of carbohydrate metabolism explain the beneficial effect of estrogen therapy on the progression of carotid artery intima-media thickness ( IMT ) in postmenopausal women . Design : A r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , single-center trial enrolling 222 postmenopausal women 45 years and older without cardiovascular disease and with low-density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol levels of 3.37 mmol/L or greater ( ≥130 mg/dL ) . Intervention was unopposed micronized 17β-estradiol versus placebo . Measurements were made using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography to measure carotid artery IMT at baseline and every 6 months on-trial . Results : Progression of carotid IMT was inversely related to on-trial high-density lipoprotein ( HDL ) cholesterol ( P = 0.04 ) and was directly related to on-trial LDL-cholesterol ( P = 0.005 ) . Compared with placebo , women r and omized to estradiol showed a higher mean on-trial HDL-cholesterol level and a lower mean on-trial LDL-cholesterol level . In contrast , fasting glucose , insulin , and hemoglobin A1C were lowered and insulin sensitivity increased with estradiol therapy , but the changes were not related to carotid IMT progression . On-trial HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were significant independent determinants of carotid IMT progression , jointly explaining 30 % of the treatment effect of unopposed estrogen on the progression of carotid IMT . Conclusion : Unopposed 17β-estradiol  reduced carotid IMT progression in postmenopausal women in part by increasing HDL-cholesterol and decreasing LDL-cholesterol . Although women r and omized to estradiol showed improvement in all the markers of carbohydrate metabolism , these factors did not play a significant role in carotid IMT progression
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 .