A study published in the scientific journal Neurology showed that estrogen-based hormone therapy alone during menopause may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia in women.
During the study, researchers analyzed the medical data of 21,462 women, 1,953 of whom had received estrogen hormone therapy. Some participants also had biomarker results, brain scans, and autopsy data to assess the accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau protein, two of the most prominent features of Alzheimer's disease.
The results showed that women receiving estrogen therapy were 39% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to those who did not, and 35% less likely to have pathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease detected, after adjusting for factors such as age, education level, genetics, and others. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid analyses also indicated a reduction in amyloid buildup in their brains.
However, the researchers stressed that these results do not mean recommending the use of estrogen to prevent dementia, emphasizing that the study only showed a statistical correlation and does not definitively prove that hormone therapy is the direct cause of brain protection.
A study whose results were presented at the Endocrine Society Conference (ENDO 2026) indicated that hormone therapy during menopause can significantly reduce the risk of bone density loss in women.
