Menopause is a natural stage of life that every woman goes through. It marks the end of menstrual periods and usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. During this time, the body begins producing much lower levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
These hormonal changes can cause a wide range of symptoms. Many women experience hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, mood changes, and vaginal dryness. However, one of the less obvious changes happening inside the body is the gradual weakening of bones.
Bones are living tissues that constantly renew themselves. Throughout life, old bone is broken down and replaced with new bone. Estrogen plays an important role in keeping this process balanced. When estrogen levels drop after menopause, bone starts breaking down faster than it can be rebuilt. As a result, bones become thinner and weaker.
This process can lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis. Osteopenia means that bone density is lower than normal but not yet severely reduced. Osteoporosis is a more serious condition in which bones become fragile and break more easily.
Fractures of the hip, spine, and wrist are common complications. These injuries can have major consequences for older women. Some people experience chronic pain, difficulty walking, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life.
Because bone loss usually happens slowly and causes no symptoms at first, many women do not know their bones are weakening. Doctors often use a special imaging test called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, to measure bone mineral density. This test can identify bone loss before fractures occur.
For many years, menopausal hormone therapy has been used to relieve symptoms such as hot flashes and sleep disturbances. The treatment replaces some of the hormones that decline during menopause.
However, many women have avoided hormone therapy because of concerns raised by earlier studies about possible risks, including blood clots and certain cancers. Warning labels and public discussions have led some women and doctors to be cautious about its use.
A new study is now encouraging experts to take another look at the potential benefits of hormone therapy. The research was presented at ENDO 2026, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago.
The study included 387 postmenopausal women who had DXA scans between 2021 and 2025. About one-third of the women were using menopausal hormone therapy, while the remaining participants were not using the treatment.
The researchers found a striking difference between the two groups. Women who used menopausal hormone therapy had about a 69 percent lower risk of developing low bone mineral density in their spine and hip compared with women who did not use hormone therapy.
Importantly, this finding remained strong even after the researchers considered other factors that can affect bone health. These included age, how long the women had been in menopause, vitamin D levels, smoking habits, and other medical conditions.
Dr. Diego Espinoza-Peralta, vice president of the Mexican Society of Nutrition and Endocrinology and principal investigator at Investigación Médica Sonora, said the findings suggest that hormone therapy appears to protect bones independently rather than simply by coincidence.
The study indicates that hormone therapy may provide benefits beyond relieving uncomfortable menopausal symptoms. It may also help preserve bone strength and lower the risk of fractures later in life.
The findings may encourage doctors and patients to have more balanced discussions about hormone therapy, especially for women who are early in menopause and have a high risk of bone loss.
The study has important strengths. It used bone density scans rather than self-reported information, making the findings more reliable. It also adjusted for several factors that could influence bone health.
However, there are limitations. The study was observational and retrospective, meaning it looked back at existing records rather than assigning treatments randomly. Because of this, the research cannot prove that hormone therapy directly caused the reduction in bone loss. The study also involved a relatively small group of women.
Even so, the findings add to growing evidence that menopausal hormone therapy may have important benefits for selected women. Future larger studies will be needed to confirm these results and help doctors determine which women may gain the most benefit while minimizing potential risks.
If you care about bone health, please read studies that plant-based diets can harm your bone health without these nutrients, and how to ease arthritis with anti-inflammatory foods.
For more health information, please see recent studies that too much of this vitamin may increase your risk of bone fractures, and results showing this type of exercise may protect your bone health, slow down bone aging.
Source: Investigación Médica Sonora (INMEDS).
