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 .
Cognitive effects of estradiol after menopause
Objective : To test the hypothesis that effects of estrogen-containing hormone therapy on cognitive abilities differ between postmenopausal women near to , and further from , menopause . Methods : In this r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial , healthy women within 6 years of menopause or 10 + years after menopause were r and omly assigned to oral 17β-estradiol 1 mg/d or placebo .  Women with a uterus received cyclic micronized progesterone vaginal gel or placebo . The primary outcome assessed at 2.5 and 5 years , compared between treatment groups , was change in a st and ardized composite of neuropsychological test scores assessing verbal episodic memory . Secondary outcomes assessed executive functions and global cognition . Results : A total of 567 women were included in modified intention-to-treat analyses after a mean treatment duration of 57 months . For verbal memory , the mean estradiol minus placebo st and ardized difference in composite scores ( −0.06 , 95 % confidence interval −0.22 to 0.09 ) was not significant ( 2-tailed p = 0.33 ) . Differences were similar in early and late postmenopause groups ( 2-tailed interaction p = 0.88 ) . Interactions between postmenopause groups and differences between treatment groups were not significant for executive functions or global cognition . Conclusions : Estradiol initiated within 6 years of menopause does not affect verbal memory , executive functions , or global cognition differently than therapy begun 10 + years after menopause . Estradiol neither benefits nor harms these cognitive abilities regardless of time since menopause . Classification of evidence : This study provides Class I evidence that estradiol initiated within 6 years of menopause does not affect cognition at 2.5 years differently than estradiol initiated 10 + years after menopause
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 .