Benefits
It is the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms experienced by post menopausal women. The benefits of HRT have been discussed under the symptoms of menopause.
In summary, these include:
- arrests flushing (77%); improves headaches (30%) and insomnia (55%),
- reverses genital tract atrophy
- improves psychological symptoms e.g. confidence improved in about 30%
- reduces osteoporosis and thus, fracture rate
- it had previously been suggested that there is a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease - however the evidence suggests that HRT increases the risk of probable dementia
Unlike the oral contraceptive pill however, there is no evidence that HRT reduces the risk of ovarian cancer.
Reference
- BMS & WHC’s 2020 recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women; BMS, 2021
- NICE. Menopause: identification and management. NICE guideline NG23. Published November 2015, last updated November 2024
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