Postmenopausal hormone therapy and risk of stroke: A pooled analysis of data from population-based cohort studies

by Germ án D. Carrasquilla, Paolo Frumento, Anita Berglund, Christer Borgfeldt, Matteo Bottai, Chiara Chiavenna, Mats Eliasson, Gunnar Engström, Göran Hallmans, Jan-Håkan Jansson, Patrik K. Magnusson, Peter M. Nilsson, Nancy L. Pedersen, Alicja Wolk, Karin Leander BackgroundRecent research indicates a favourable influence of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) if initiated early, but not late, on subclinical atherosclerosis. However, the clinical relevance of timing of HT initiation for hard end points such as stroke remains to be determined. Further, no previous research has considered the timing of initiation of HT in relation to haemorrhagic stroke risk. The importance of the route of administration, type, active ingredient, and duration of HT for stroke risk is also unclear. We aimed to assess the association between HT and risk of stroke, considering the timing of initiation, route of administration, type, active ingredient, and duration of HT. Methods and findingsData on HT use reported by the participants in 5 population-based Swedish cohort studies, with baseline investigations performed during the period 1987 –2002, were combined in this observational study. In total, 88,914 postmenopausal women who reported data on HT use and had no previous cardiovascular disease diagnosis were included. Incident events of stroke (ischaemic, haemorrhagic, or unspecified) and haemorrhagic stroke were identified from n ational population registers. Laplace regression was employ...
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research