Benefits of hormone supplementation therapy For women with indications for hormone supplementation therapy during menopause, appropriately regulated hormone supplementation therapy can yield the greatest health benefits: in particular, it is important for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, reducing the occurrence of osteoporosis, delaying skin aging and maintaining body weight. 1. Cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in older women. The incidence of diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women increases rapidly with the extension of menopausal years. Menopause becomes an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women. Menopausal hormone supplementation therapy can significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease by improving vascular function, blood pressure, insulin resistance, lipoprotein profile, and thus risk factors for coronary heart disease. However, the use of hormone supplementation therapy solely for the prevention of coronary heart disease is not recommended. A healthy lifestyle can also be very helpful in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, including: quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, diet control, reducing body mass, lowering blood pressure, and controlling blood glucose and lipids. 2. Genitourinary tract symptoms In late menopausal women, symptoms of genital and urinary system atrophy such as vaginal dryness, pain, painful intercourse, frequent urination and urinary urgency are very common and do not resolve on their own. Hormone supplementation is effective in improving these symptoms, especially with topical vaginal estrogen, but treatment must be continued to maintain efficacy, and symptoms may reappear after discontinuation, with attention to monitoring of liver and kidney function. 3. Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease of the elderly, often silently eating away at the bones of the elderly. Osteoporosis progresses to a certain level and shows signs and symptoms such as pain, easy fracture and spinal deformation. Hormone supplementation is a good option for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis because it reduces bone loss, and the earlier it is used, the more effective it is, especially for symptomatic early menopausal women and asymptomatic women younger than 60 years of age. For women over 60 years of age, the use of hormone supplementation therapy solely for the prevention of osteoporosis is not the first choice. 4. Skin Hormone supplementation therapy is beneficial in delaying skin aging, but skin aging is not an indication for the application of hormone supplementation therapy in menopausal women. Hormone supplementation therapy to prevent skin aging should be considered as an added benefit to treat other symptoms of menopause. 5. Obesity Menopause itself is the cause of increased body mass and abdominal obesity in women. It is currently believed that the use of hormone supplementation therapy for postmenopausal women does not increase body mass and can slow down the occurrence of obesity and achieve the purpose of weight control. Side effects of hormone supplementation therapy 1. Breast cancer The incidence of breast cancer in Chinese women is low and young, with the peak incidence at the age of 40 to 50. Estrogen and/or progestin supplementation therapy for 5 years does not increase the lifetime risk of breast cancer in patients; the available evidence-based medical evidence shows that the risk of breast cancer in those with HRT>5 years is uncertain, and the results reported in different literature are not consistent, and even if the risk increases, it is small (less than 0.1% per year), and the rate of increase of this risk is smaller than other risk factors (such as obesity and drinking more than 2 standard drinks per day). The use of different types and routes of administration of estrogen and progestin may have different effects on the risk of breast cancer. However, the current evidence suggests that breast cancer remains a contraindication to hormone supplementation therapy. 2. Benign breast diseases and family history of breast cancer Benign breast diseases include breast hyperplasia, fat necrosis, breast fibroids, and ductal papillomas. Breast hyperplasia in the general sense is not a pathological change, and hormone supplementation therapy has no clear effect on it. However, before starting hormone supplementation therapy, a full health assessment should be conducted and advice from the relevant specialist should be taken. In addition, most breast cancers are disseminated and not familially aggregated, and there are no accurate measures to evaluate the risk in those with a family history of breast cancer. Those with indications for hormone supplementation therapy may be treated with hormone supplementation after being fully informed of the possible risks, but close follow-up is required. Gynecologic tumors: It is controversial whether hormone supplementation increases the risk of ovarian epithelial carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma; hormone supplementation increases the risk of endometrial cancer, but the regulated application of progestin in hormone supplementation does not increase the risk of endometrial cancer.