Is there a role for menopausal hormone therapy in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis?
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We provide an evidence base and guidance for the use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for the maintenance of skeletal health and prevention of future fractures in recently menopausal women. Despite controversy over associated side effects, which has limited its use in recent decades, the potential role for MHT soon after menopause in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis is increasingly recognized. We present a narrative review of the benefits versus risks of using MHT in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Current literature suggests robust anti-fracture efficacy of MHT in patients unselected for low BMD, regardless of concomitant use with progestogens, but with limited evidence of persisting skeletal benefits following cessation of therapy. Side effects include cardiovascular events, thromboembolic disease, stroke and breast cancer, but the benefit-risk profile differs according to the use of opposed versus unopposed oestrogens, type of oestrogen/progestogen, dose and route of delivery and, for cardiovascular events, timing of MHT use. Overall, the benefit-risk profile supports MHT treatment in women who have recently (< 10 years) become menopausal, who have menopausal symptoms and who are less than 60 years old, with a low baseline risk for adverse events. MHT should be considered as an option for the maintenance of skeletal health in women, specifically as an additional benefit in the context of treatment of menopausal symptoms, when commenced at the menopause, or shortly thereafter, in the context of a personalized benefit-risk evaluation.
Date Issued
2020-07-08
Date Acceptance
2020-05-04
Citation
Osteoporosis International, 2020, 31, pp.2271-2286
ISSN
0937-941X
Publisher
Springer
Start Page
2271
End Page
2286
Journal / Book Title
Osteoporosis International
Volume
31
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32642851
PII: 10.1007/s00198-020-05497-8
Subjects
Cardiovascular
Epidemiology
Hormone therapy
Menopause
Osteoporosis
Safety
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2020-07-08