Hormone Replacement Therapy (menopause)

Hormone Replacement Therapy (menopause)

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopause is medical treatment in surgically menopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Its goal is to mitigate discomfort caused by diminished circulating estrogen and progesterone hormones in menopause. Combination HRT is often recommended as it decreases the amount of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer associated with unopposed estrogen therapy. The main hormones involved are estrogen, progesterone and progestin. Some recent therapies include the use of androgens as well.

The 2002 Women's Health Initiative of the National Institutes of Health found disparate results for all cause mortality with hormone replacement, finding it to be lower when HRT was begun earlier, between age 50-59, but higher when begun after age 60. In older patients, there was an increased incidence of breast cancer, heart attacks and stroke, although a reduced incidence of colorectal cancer and bone fracture. Some of the WHI findings were again found in a larger national study done in the UK, known as The Million Women Study. As a result of these findings, the number of women taking hormone treatment dropped precipitously. The Women's Health Initiative recommended that women with non-surgical menopause take the lowest feasible dose of HRT for the shortest possible time to minimize associated risks.

The current indications for use from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration include short-term treatment of menopausal symptoms, such as vasomotor hot flashes or urogenital atrophy, and prevention of osteoporosis. In 2012, the United States Preventive Task Force concluded that the harmful effects of combined estrogen and progestin are likely to exceed the chronic disease prevention benefits in most women. A consensus expert opinion published by the The Endocrine Society stated that when taken during perimenopause, or the initial years of menopause, hormonal therapy carries significantly fewer risks than previously published, and reduces all cause mortality in most patient scenarios. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology also released a position statement in 2009 that approved of HRT in appropriate clinical scenarios.