Key Takeaways

A study in Denmark showed elevated venous thromboembolic risk with oral menopausal hormone therapy across the board, but elevated risk of stroke and myocardial infarction only with high-dose oral forms taken for more than 1 year.

Transdermal forms of menopausal hormone therapy did not carry those risks with the exception of heart attack risk with combined cyclic therapy.

The researchers called for communicating both what is known and what is not known about safety when considering menopausal hormone therapy with patients.

The full scientific article is here: https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100688

While the subjects of the study were (as so often) cis women and the result is cannot be applied 1:1 for trans women and others, it is nonetheless a strong indicator about the associated risks of various forms of estrogen-based HRT.