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 .
Breast Cancer Risk in Relation to the Interval Between Menopause and Starting Hormone Therapy
Background Although breast cancer risk is greater in users of estrogen – progestin than estrogen-only formulations of menopausal hormonal therapy  , reports on their effects have been somewhat inconsistent . We investigated whether the timing of these therapies affected breast cancer incidence . Methods A total of 1 129 025 postmenopausal UK women provided prospect i ve information on hormonal therapy use and other factors relevant for breast cancer risk . We used Cox regression to estimate adjusted relative risks ( RRs ) of breast cancer in hormonal therapy  users vs never users and calculated st and ardized incidence rates . All statistical tests were two-sided . Results During 4.05 million woman-years of follow-up , 15 759 incident breast cancers occurred , with 7107 in current users of hormonal therapy .  Breast cancer incidence was increased in current users of hormonal therapy , returning to that of never users a few years after use had ceased . The relative risks for breast cancer in current users were greater if hormonal therapy was begun before or soon after menopause than after a longer gap ( Pheterogeneity < .001 , for both estrogen-only and estrogen-progestin formulations ) . Among current users of estrogen-only formulations , there was little or no increase in risk if use began 5 years or more after menopause ( RR = 1.05 , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] = 0.89 to 1.24 ) , but risk was statistically significantly increased if use began before or less than 5 years after menopause ( RR = 1.43 , 95 % CI = 1.35 to 1.51 ) . A similar pattern was observed among current users of estrogen – progestin formulations ( RR = 1.53 , 95 % CI = 1.38 to 1.70 , and RR = 2.04 , 95 % CI = 1.95 to 2.14 , respectively ) . At 50–59 years of age , annual st and ardized incidence rates for breast cancer were 0.30 % ( 95 % CI = 0.29 % to 0.31 % ) among never users of hormone therapy and 0.43 % ( 95 % CI = 0.42 % to 0.45 % ) and 0.61 % ( 95 % CI = 0.59 % to 0.64 % ) , respectively , among current users of estrogen-only and estrogen – progestin formulations who began use less than 5 years after menopause . Conclusions There was substantial heterogeneity in breast cancer risk among current users of hormonal therapy . Risks were greater among users of estrogen – progestin than estrogen-only formulations and if hormonal therapy started at around the time of menopause than later
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 .