New scientific support for hormone replacement therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms in women has been welcomed by doctors and support groups.
HRT replaces declining hormones in women as they age, by topping up oestrogen and progesterone that are no longer produced in sufficient levels during the menopause.
The drugs can alleviate symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog and mood swings.
However, in the US their use plummeted up to 80 per cent following a 2002 Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study linking HRT with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, blood clots and breast cancer.
Research assessed 161,000 women in the US, but subsequent analysis found the risk-benefit ratio of taking HRT was dependent on other factors, such as age and when the woman started the menopause.
The 2002 study focused on women who were, on average, 63 and 10 years post-menopause, a
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