Hormone therapy: A new study suggests that menopausal hormone therapy may help protect women from the bone loss that often follows menopause.
Menopause marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years and is confirmed when menstrual periods stop. For some women, this is the only major change they notice. For many others, the years around menopause bring symptoms such as hot flashes, poor sleep, urinary concerns, mood changes, brain fog, thinning hair and loss of bone density.
Loss of bone density is especially important because it can increase the risk of osteoporosis and fractures later in life.
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The new study, presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, adds to existing evidence that menopausal hormone therapy, also known as MHT, may support bone health in postmenopausal women.
Researchers found that women using menopausal hormone therapy were 69% less likely to have low bone mineral density compared with women who were not using the treatment.
The study looked at 387 postmenopausal women who had DEXA bone scans between 2021 and 2025. DEXA scans are commonly used to measure bone mineral density. Of the women included, 129 were using menopausal hormone therapy, and 258 were not.
The researchers said both groups were similar in age, vitamin D levels and years since menopause. The average age of the women was 59.8 years.
Low bone mineral density was found in nearly half of the women overall. However, it was much more common among women who were not using hormone therapy. Among women taking MHT, 31.8% had low bone mineral density. Among those not using MHT, the figure was 56.2%.
Women using hormone therapy also had better bone density scores in the lumbar spine and hip, two areas where fractures are common in older women.
The findings support what many doctors have already observed in clinical practice: hormone therapy can help slow bone loss after menopause. Earlier research has also shown that hormone therapy may reduce the risk of hip and overall fractures in postmenopausal women.
Apart from bone protection, menopausal hormone therapy is also used to ease common menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, irritability, anxiety, body aches and brain fog.
However, experts caution that hormone therapy is not suitable for every woman.
The risks can vary depending on a woman’s age, medical history and whether she still has her uterus. In some women, hormone therapy may increase the risk of uterine cancer, heart attack, stroke or breast cancer. Because of this, the decision to start treatment should be made after a detailed discussion with a doctor.
Researchers also noted that the study was observational. This means it shows an association between hormone therapy and better bone density, but it does not prove that hormone therapy directly caused the improvement.
Still, the findings suggest that menopausal hormone therapy may be an important option for protecting bone health in carefully selected postmenopausal women.
