received a dementia diagnosis.<\/a><\/p>\nResearchers discovered that taking hormone therapy was linked to a 10 per cent lower risk of overall dementia and a 16 per cent reduction in Alzheimer\u2019s disease specifically. <\/p>\n
Commencing treatment between the ages of 46 and 56 offered the greatest benefit.<\/p>\n
They found that those who started HRT aged 46 to 50 had a 13 per cent reduced risk of dementia, while those who started taking HRT when they were aged 51 to 56 saw a 23 per cent reduced risk.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/iStock-182052944.jpg\")
A large new study of post-menopausal UK women found that taking the common treatment for menopausal symptoms can significantly reduce a women\u2019s risk of dementia (Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile those who carry the gene variant APOE4 \u2013 a risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s \u2013 who also took HRT, had a 13 per cent reduced risk of dementia.<\/p>\n
And stronger links were found with women who took HRT after surgical menopause; these women had a 26 per cent lower risk of being diagnosed with dementia.<\/p>\n
The study also found that women who naturally had lower exposure to oestrogen over their lifetime, due to starting their periods late or early menopause, seemed to have a 16 per cent reduced odds of dementia after taking HRT.<\/p>\n
\u201cHRT use was associated with lower dementia risk, and these findings may help inform more tailored approached to HRT prescribing in relation to women\u2019s lifetime dementia risk, the authors wrote in the journal Alzheimer\u2019s and Dementia.<\/p>\n
Study lead, Professor Anne-Marie Minihane, director of the Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging at UEA, said: \u201cWe found that women who had used HRT were about 10 per cent less likely to develop dementia, and 16 per cent less likely to develop the Alzheimer\u2019s disease form of dementia, than women who had never used it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the protective association between HRT and dementia was not the same for all women.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cWhile HRT has long been prescribed primarily to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, this work suggests it may also play a role in long term cognitive health for some women.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5cdb08d7e57392c2329b5cfb68f0feadY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjUxMTAxODQ1-2.65566009.jpg\")
After examining information on dementia diagnoses and HRT use, the research team found that taking hormone therapy was associated to a 10 per cent reduced risk of all dementia and a 16 per cent reduced risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease specifically (PA Wire)<\/p>\n
Prof David Llewellyn, from the University of Exeter Medical School, added: \u201cThese findings represent a significant step forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than asking simply whether HRT affects dementia risk, we\u2019ve been able to identify which women are most likely to benefit, and when.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the foundation on which genuinely personalised approaches to women\u2019s brain health can be built.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Amanda Collis, executive director for Research Strategy and Programmes at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funded the study, said: \u201cThis study provides valuable new insights into how menopause and the timing of hormone replacement therapy may influence dementia risk in women.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe findings suggest that HRT could have greater protective benefits for some groups, highlighting the potential for more personalised approaches to prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commenting on the study, Aimee Spector, professor of clinical psychology of ageing and the director of the Menopause Mind Lab at University College London (UCL), said: \u201cThe results are promising in that they analysed data from the UK Biobank using large samples.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe novelty of their findings was timing of HRT initiation, with those who started HRT between the ages of 46-56 conferring the greatest benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis supports the \u2018window of opportunity\u2019 hypothesis, suggesting that HRT use during the menopause transition phase, where symptoms are typically more problematic; is important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":752974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-752973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/752974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}