Research · PMID 42304170
Reviewed by Neal Rouzier, MD, Preventive Medicine · Sep 2026
Menopausal Hormone Therapy: A Narrative Review of Contemporary Evidence.
Pharmacotherapy · July 2026 · Shannon W Finks, Nicole E Cieri-Hutcherson, Veronica Vernon, Sarah E McBane
What this study found
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) remains the most effective treatment for vasomotor and genitourinary symptoms of menopause; however, its use declined sharply following the publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). Misinterpretation and limitations of WHI findings have led to persistent misconceptions and underutilization of MHT.
How RAGMD uses this study
Clinical questions this paper informs
Synthesis lives on the evidence question — this page shows where the study sits in that analysis.
Core study
Does hormone therapy improve metabolic syndrome markers?
Menopausal hormone therapy may favorably affect some metabolic markers in selected women but is not a primary treatment for metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk management remain foundational.
Open evidence analysis