Once upon a time, hormone replacement was believed to be a fountain of youth for post menopausal women.The use of estrogen and progesterone was believed to keep skin soft, and reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Then in 2002, a study suggested that the therapy could do more harm than good. Now comes yet another study showing that women who started using estrogen and progesterone sooner–shortly after menopause– do not have a higher incidence of cardio problems. All of which is nicely explained in the video below from Boston.com.
This only addresses cardio problems – part of the problem of using study results to make health decisions is that they are usually uni-health issue, rather than a comprehensive assessment. What is good advice for heart issues may not be good advice for cancers, for other diseases, and for over-all longevity. This study does little to clarify the hormone replacement picture.