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 .
Menopausal hormone therapy and risks of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers: women's health initiative randomized trials.
BACKGROUND Case-control studies have reported that exogenous estrogen use is associated with increased  risk of skin cancer .  The effects of menopausal hormone therapy on incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer and melanoma  were evaluated in post hoc analyses of the Women 's Health Initiative r and omized placebo-controlled hormone therapy trials of combined estrogen plus progestin ( E + P ) and estrogen only ( E-alone ) . METHODS Postmenopausal women aged 50 - 79 years were r and omly assigned to conjugated equine estrogen ( 0.625 mg/d ) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate ( 2.5 mg/d ) or placebo in the E + P trial if they had an intact uterus ( N = 16,608 ) or to conjugated equine estrogen alone or placebo in the E-alone trial if they had a hysterectomy ( N = 10,739 ) ; the mean follow-up was 5.6 and 7.1 years , respectively . Incident nonmelanoma skin cancers ( n = 980 [ E + P trial ] ; n = 820 [ E-alone trial ] ) and melanomas ( n = 57 [ E + P trial ] ; n = 38 [ E-alone trial ] ) were ascertained by self-report . Incident cases of cutaneous malignant melanoma were confirmed by physician review of medical records . Incidences of nonmelanoma skin cancer and melanoma were compared between the two r and omization groups within each trial using hazard ratios ( HRs ) , with corresponding 95 % confidence intervals ( CIs ) and Wald statistic P values from Cox proportional hazards models . All statistical tests were two-sided . RESULTS Rates of incident nonmelanoma skin cancer and melanoma were similar between the active hormone ( combined analysis of E + P and E-alone ) and placebo groups ( nonmelanoma skin cancer : HR = 0.98 , 95 % CI = 0.89 to 1.07 ; melanoma : HR = 0.92 , 95 % CI = 0.61 to 1.37 ) . Results were similar for the E + P and E-alone trials when analyzed individually . CONCLUSIONS Menopausal hormone therapy did not affect overall incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer or melanoma . These findings do not support a role of menopausal estrogen , with or without progestin , in the development of skin cancer in postmenopausal women
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 .