I'd decided after several months of symptoms that I wanted to think about HRT, and went to the GP in the autumn. They then decided that we had to sort out some potential heart issues first, so it's kind of dropped off the list, and I was just getting ready to bring it up again, when I read an article yesterday about a new link between HRT and dementia. Previous research has been mixed as to whether HRT is protective or increases the risk, and it seems to vary depending on whether you have certain genes. Even the research on the people with the genetic risk has given mixed results, and a study last year suggested possible benefits. Now this one is suggesting possible acceleration of damage to already damaged cells.
Dementia is one of my biggest worries, and I know I have a strong family history. I can't be certain I have the APO-E gene, but I think I probably do.
Now I've kind of gone off the idea of trying HRT until there is more information about it. I thought it might be protective at first, but the thought of causing further damage seems worse than the absence of a protective factor. At the same time, the sweating, itching, dryness of skin/hair/etc, plantar fasciitis, joint pain, etc were starting to get to me, and I was really looking forward to some of that improving. Benefits to heart and bone health were also positives, given that I have cardiac risk factors. But dementia scares me more. Now I'm back to being uncertain again.
The study used a mixed population who were taking a variety of types of HRT, not just transdermal, which is what I'd be interested in, so that could make a difference.
anyone else worried?
https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/articles/2025/1/8/hrt-link-to-alzheimers