How HRT could be a ‘life saver’

HORMONE replacement therapy slashes the risk of early death in middleaged women by almost a third, research suggests.

Patients who used the treatment also had healthier hearts and were no more likely to suffer cancer or other fatal illnesses than those given a placebo.

And there were significantly fewer deaths from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia among those given “oestrogenonly” HRT, suggesting it kept brains healthier.

Scientists followed 27,347 women for 18 years who were prescribed HRT to combat hot flushes and other symptoms of the menopause.

Death rates among 50 to 59-year-olds were 30 per cent lower when compared to women of the same age who were given the placebo.

Dr JoAnn Manson, from Boston, lead author of the study published in JAMA, said: “We observed a trend toward reduced mortality in younger women who received hormone therapy.”

The number of women taking HRT has fallen significantly in the last 20 years after reports linking it to a greater risk of certain cancers.