Menopausal hormone therapy associated with increased blood pressure

Menopausal hormone therapy use is associated with higher odds of high blood pressure, according to research published July 11 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Longer hormone use was associated with further increased odds of high blood pressure, although this association decreased with subjects' ages.

The authors of the study, led by Joanne Lind of the University of Western Sydney, included 43,405 postmenopausal women in their study to identify the association.

As Dr. Lind explains, the study shows that "longer use of menopausal hormone therapy is associated with having high blood pressure. It is therefore important that high blood pressure be conveyed as a health risk for women considering using menopausal hormone therapy."

The results of the study may be taken into account when women are deciding whether, and for how long, menopausal hormone therapy is right for them.

Citation: Chiu CL, Lujic S, Thornton C, O'Loughlin A, Makris A, et al. (2012) Menopausal Hormone Therapy Is Associated with Having High Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women: Observational Cohort Study. PLoS ONE 7(7): e40260. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040260

Financial Disclosure: Dr. Lind is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Fellowship (Australia). www.nhmrc.gov.au. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement:The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040260

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