Very often post-menopausal women show some distressing symptoms due to lower levels of estrogen and progesterone. Hormone replacement therapy is a system of treatment that uses medicines to boost the level of hormones artificially. It mainly involves hormones like progesterone (or progestin), estrogen and sometimes testosterone.
Hormone replacement therapy has some distinct advantages. Despite being used for half a century, it is only recently that its effect on postmenopausal women has been identified. The top 4 benefits of Hormone replacement therapy are:
One of its significant benefits has been found in post-menopausal women. It was found to relieve some of the acute symptoms of menopause.
Bone loss in women often occurs due to estrogen deficiency. Estrogen aids the absorption and storage of calcium in bones. That is why hormone replacement therapy can prevent this bone loss in postmenopausal women. It reduces the risk of hip or vertebral fracture.
However, studies indicate that the prevention of bone loss post-menopause needs long-term intake of HRT. This is because a lot of bone loss takes place even before menopause starts. Both estrogen and progesterone could be beneficial in this.
Low estrogen levels have often been cited as the reason for the rise in coronary heart diseases in post-menopausal women. This is because of its beneficial effect on lipid profile and vascular reactivity. Pre-menopause women have a healthier ratio of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol to ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. This often reverses post-menopause. HRT redresses this balance, improving cardiac health.
A number of studies have shown that women on HRT have a reduced risk of colon cancer. It was found that women on estrogen, with or without progestin showed a lesser risk for colon cancer.
Hormone replacement therapy helps improve the overall quality of life in post-menopausal women. In addition, it also lowers risk for a number of diseases.