Women who took hormone replacement therapy (HRT) showed no increased risk of cancer and had a lowered risk of heart disease, Danish researchers reported. Previously, HRT had been linked to both illnesses.
The study followed women who took HRT continuously over a ten-year period. After that, the women were followed for up to 16 years and compared with a group who did not take HRT. Twice as many women who did not take HRT died of a heart attack or heart failure, when compared with those who did have the therapy. Differences in the number of cancer cases between the groups were negligible – for example, 36 cases of cancer with the women who did take HRT, versus 39 cases among those who did not.
In a statement, Louise Lind Schierbeck, MD, of Hvidore Hospital, in Hvidore, Denmark, and her co-authors, said the women began to take HRT “in early post-menopause” -- i.e. between 50 and 60 years old.
Previous studies have concluded the HRT is risky in terms of heart disease, but experts said those studies are flawed because researchers began treating the subjects when the women were in their mid-60s rather than at a younger age.
The findings of the Danish study were published in the journal “BMJ One.”
