THURSDAY, June 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For postmenopausal women using estrogen-only hormone therapy (HT), oral estrogen-only HT use is associated with increased risk of hypertension, according to a study published online June 5 in Hypertension.

Cindy Z. Kalenga, from the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study involving women aged ≥45 years who filled at least two consecutive prescriptions for estrogen-only HT to examine the association between route of administration with hypertension risk. Data were included for 112,240 women who used an estrogen-only form of HT.

The researchers found that compared with transdermal and vaginal estrogens, oral estrogen was associated with a higher risk of hypertension (hazard ratios, 1.14 and 1.19, respectively). Compared with estradiol, conjugated equine estrogen was associated with increased risk of hypertension (hazard ratio, 1.08); no increased risk was seen for estrone. Positive associations were seen for duration of estrogen exposure and cumulative dose of estrogen with risk of hypertension.

“It’s really important to have greater knowledge on safe and effective hormonal treatments for women during menopause,” a coauthor said in a statement. “At the end of the day, it’s an individualized decision about what is best for the person going through menopause and should include open dialogue with their physician or health care team.”

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