A new large study has found that hormone therapy used during menopause does not increase or decrease the risk of dementia in women.
This research, led by University College London (UCL) and requested by the World Health Organization (WHO), helps clear up years of confusion about this topic. The findings were published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, a respected medical journal.
Menopause hormone therapy, also called hormone replacement therapy or HRT, is often used to help women manage symptoms like hot flashes, mood changes, and sleep problems during menopause.
However, for many years, there has been debate about whether using HRT could affect a woman’s chances of developing dementia later in life. Some studies suggested it might increase the risk, while others said it might lower it.
This new review is the most complete and detailed look at this issue so far. It brings together information from more than one million women across several countries. The research team looked at 10 studies in total.
One was a clinical trial, and the others were large population-based studies. These included women from the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, and China.
After carefully reviewing the data, the researchers found no clear link between hormone therapy and the risk of dementia or memory problems.
It did not matter when the women started taking the therapy, how long they used it, or what type of hormones they took. Even in cases of early menopause, hormone therapy did not appear to change the risk of developing dementia.
This research comes shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would remove strong warnings from hormone therapy products. Those warnings used to claim that HRT could raise the risk of serious problems like dementia.
But the FDA now says that those claims are not supported by the latest research. In fact, the FDA even suggested HRT might help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. However, this new study from UCL shows that there is no solid proof for that idea either.
Melissa Melville, a PhD student who led the research, explained that dementia affects more women than men around the world, and it’s important to find out why. She said hormone therapy has been widely used for years, but its effects on memory and brain health have remained unclear. This has left many women unsure about whether HRT is safe to use.
Professor Aimee Spector, another researcher on the study, added that the WHO does not currently give advice about hormone therapy and brain health. She hopes this research will help change that. The WHO plans to release new guidelines about preventing dementia in 2026, and this review may be used to shape those recommendations.
Even though this study is one of the best summaries of the available evidence, the researchers said there are still some limits. There are not many long-term clinical trials on this topic, and more research is needed—especially in women from different ethnic backgrounds and in those who had early menopause or early memory issues.
In the end, this study gives a clear message: menopause hormone therapy does not seem to raise or lower the risk of dementia. Women and doctors can now focus on the actual benefits and risks of using HRT to manage menopause symptoms, instead of worrying about brain health effects that are not backed by strong evidence.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about a simple solution to fight dementia and big causes of memory loss, dementia you need to know.
For more health information, please read studies that people who take high blood pressure medications have lower dementia risk and early indicators of dementia: 5 behaviour changes to look for after age 50.
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