Gallbladder Disease and Hormone Replacement Therapy in Postmenopausal Women
Author Information
Author(s): B Liu, V Beral, A Balkwill, J Green, S Sweetland, G Reeves
Primary Institution: Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford
Hypothesis
Does transdermal hormone replacement therapy reduce the risk of gallbladder disease compared to oral hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women?
Conclusion
Using transdermal hormone replacement therapy instead of oral therapy can significantly reduce the risk of gallbladder disease in postmenopausal women.
Supporting Evidence
- 19,889 women were admitted for gallbladder disease during the study.
- Current users of hormone therapy had a relative risk of 1.64 for gallbladder disease compared to never users.
- Transdermal therapy had a lower risk of gallbladder disease compared to oral therapy.
- One fewer cholecystectomy could be expected for every 140 women using transdermal therapy.
Takeaway
This study found that women using hormone therapy have a higher chance of getting gallbladder disease, but using a skin patch instead of pills can help lower that risk.
Methodology
A prospective cohort study involving 1,001,391 postmenopausal women followed for gallbladder disease through NHS hospital admission data.
Potential Biases
Potential recall bias in reporting hormone therapy use and hospital admissions.
Limitations
The study may not account for all confounding factors and relies on self-reported hormone therapy use.
Participant Demographics
Postmenopausal women, mean age 56, recruited from NHS breast screening centres in England and Scotland.
Statistical Information
P-Value
1.64
Confidence Interval
1.58 to 1.69
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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