A new study has recently revealed that hormone modulating therapy (HMT) effectively reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia by 7%. HMT is used to treat breast cancer.
This study was recently published in JAMA Network Open.
In this study, researchers involved 18808 women with breast cancer. These women were aged 65 or older and were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2009. They did not have a previous diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and never used HMT before their diagnosis. 66% of these women received HMT within three years of their diagnosis. Researchers tracked these women for almost 12 years. They wanted to check whether these women have the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
When researchers observed the collected data, 24% of women who received HMT and 28% of women who did not receive HMT developed Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Researchers also found that HMT was more effective in women aged between 65 and 69. But it increased the risk in women who are above 80. Black women aged between 65 and 74 who received HMT had a 24% lower risk of dementia. It even decreased to a 19% lower risk after age 75. On the other hand, white women aged 65 to 74 who received HMT had an 11% lower risk of dementia.
This study only included women aged 65 or above. Hence there is a need for further research that includes younger women to understand its effect.
The results of this study clearly show that hormone modulating therapy can effectively reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in women aged 65 or above. Hence healthcare professionals should consider this study and suggest HMT for women with breast cancer who are aged 65 or above. This can effectively reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and many health complications.
