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 .
Treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis with transdermal estrogen.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the tolerance and effectiveness of transdermal estrogen for women with established postmenopausal osteoporosis and vertebral fractures . DESIGN Double-blind , r and omized , placebo-controlled clinical trial lasting 1 year . SETTING Referral-based outpatient clinic . PATIENTS Seventy-five postmenopausal women , 47 to 75 years of age , with one or more vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis . INTERVENTIONS Thirty-nine women received dermal patches delivering 0.1 mg of 17 beta-estradiol for days 1 to 21 and oral medroxyprogesterone acetate for days 11 to 21 of a 28-day cycle . Another 39 women received placebo . MEASUREMENTS Bone turnover assessed by biochemical markers and iliac bone histomorphometry ; bone loss assessed by serial measurement of bone density ; and vertebral fracture rate . RESULTS Compared with the placebo group , the median annual percentage change in bone mineral density in the estrogen group reflected increased or steady-state bone mineral density at the lumbar spine ( 5.3 compared with 0.2 ; P = 0.007 ) , femoral trochanter ( 7.6 compared with 2.1 ; P = 0.03 ) , and midradius ( 1.0 compared with -2.6 , P less than 0.001 ) but showed no significant difference at the femoral neck ( 2.6 compared with 1.4 ; P = 0.17 ) . Estrogen treatment uniformly decreased bone turnover as assessed by several methods including serum osteocalcin concentration ( median change , -0.35 compared with 0.02 nmol/L ; P less than 0.001 ) . Histomorphometric evaluation of iliac biopsy sample s confirmed the effect of estrogen on bone formation rate per bone volume ( median change , -12.9 compared with -6.2 % per year ; P = 0.004 ) . Also , 8 new fractures occurred in 7 women in the estrogen group , whereas 20 occurred in 12 women in the placebo group , yielding a lower vertebral fracture rate in the estrogen group ( relative risk , 0.39 ; 95 % CI , 0.16 to 0.95 ) . CONCLUSIONS Transdermal estradiol treatment is effective in postmenopausal women with established osteoporosis
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 .