Hormone Therapy Can Help Improve Bone Health In Menopausal Women

Women have always been recommended to take calcium supplements even before they start menopause to make sure that their bones are in top shape. However, a new study has recently revealed that there is another way to achieve this. The study claims that menopausal women can improve their bone mass and bone structure by undergoing hormone therapy.

According to CTV News, after considering menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, previous research has already identified the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) on bone mineral density. However, the recent study is the first to ever show that MHT can also improve bone mass and structure.

"When used in the right context, specifically in postmenopausal women younger than 60 years old for whom the benefits outweigh risks, menopausal hormonal therapy is effective for both the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis," said the study's first author, Georgios Papadakis, MD, of the Lausanne University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland.

As everyone may have already been aware, osteoporosis is a progressive condition in which bones become structurally weak and are more likely to fracture or break. Menopause, which usually occurs to a woman in her 40s or 50s, significantly hastens bone loss. As time passes, the human body is constantly breaking down and building new bone tissue. The imbalance between bone breakdown and formation causes the bone mass to decrease, so osteoporosis can develop and fractures can occur more easily.

The cross-sectional study, led by a team from the Lausanne University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, used data from the OsteoLaus cohort, which was participated by 1,279 women ages 50 to 80 living in Lausanne. The participants were divided into three categories: 22 percent were undergoing MHT during the study, 30 percent were past users and 48 percent of women had never used MHT, reported News Medical.

To measure certain changes to bone health, the team took dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of the participants' lumbar spine, femoral neck and hip to examine bone mineral density. With the help of these scans, the researchers then assigned each participant with a Trabecular Bone Score, which analyzes the quality of their underlying bone structure and can also be used to conclude risk of bone fractures in postmenopausal women.

The team also considered participants' age, body mass index, history of fractures and the use of supplements such as calcium and/or vitamin D, with blood tests taken for vitamin D levels from 1,204 out of the 1,279 participants.

"Women at menopause should take note of this study, because its results can help optimize the use of menopausal hormone treatment in women at risk of osteoporosis," Papadakis said.

Findings showed higher Trabecular Bone Scores in current MHT users compared to past users or women who had never used MHT. It also revealed that current users' bone mass density values were significantly higher compared to past users or participants who had never used MHT.

Meanwhile, past users of the therapy exhibited higher bone mass density and a trend for higher bone microarchitecture values compared to women who had never used MHT. However, the researchers note that the duration of MHT had no effect on bone health.