Hormone Therapy for Menopause May Slow Down Biological Aging, Research Shows

Hormone therapy can help manage menopause symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness, but it might have one more surprising benefit: slowing biological aging.Women who have used hormone therapy were biologically younger than those who had never used it, according to a study published onJAMA Network Open. Researchers found that the pace of biological aging was slower for women who started hormone therapy after age 55 or used it for four to eight years.Menopause is a natural part of aging and marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle. This typically happens around age 51, following a transitional time (perimenopause) that can last seven to 14 years.During this time, hormone levels fluctuate, causing uncomfortable symptoms like hot flashes, depression, pain during sex, and sleep disturbances.Some women use hormone therapy—also calledhormone replacement therapy (HRT)or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)—to relieve menopause symptoms.However, hormone therapies may increase the risk of certain cancers, blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes, so these treatments are not recommended for everyone.“Despite the concerns regarding hormone therapy (HT) in postmenopausal women, our findings highlight that promoting HT might be an option to achieve inclusive healthy aging,”Chenglong Li, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University in Beijing and co-author of the study, told Verywell in an email.Hormone Therapy for MenopauseDo You Age Faster After Menopause?During menopause, the ovaries stop producing eggs and hormones—specifically estrogen and progesterone. A 2016 study linked these hormonal shifts with accelerated biological aging and found that entering menopause earlier also speeds up the aging process.The new study suggests that hormone therapy may slow this process. However, since it was an observational study, it doesn’t prove that hormone therapy directly slows down biological aging.Menopause can bring about many biological changes that reduce someone’s quality of life, including memory issues and a higher risk ofurinary tract infection, heart disease, andosteoporosis (bone density loss).While evidence on the benefits of hormone therapy for heart disease is mixed, it’s known to help protect against osteoporosis.“Bone thickness is maximal around the age of 18–20 and slowly and steadily declines after that. It is accelerated at menopause in the absence of HRT,”Robert P. Kauffman, MD, MSCP, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, told Verywell in an email.Menopause Diet: Foods to Support Changing Hormone LevelsCan Hormone Therapy Keep You Looking and Feeling Younger?For many people, menopause and low estrogen levels lead to dry, sagging skin and hair loss.Limited observational studies suggest that hormone therapy may help reverse signs of skin aging, but more research is needed to confirm this.“It would not be appropriate under contemporary practice to prescribe HRT to prevent wrinkles or otherwise look younger,” Kauffman said. However, he noted that some women experienced improved skin health with this therapy.While hormone therapy might not make you look younger, it can relieve menopause symptoms and may help improve sleep and mood for some people, leaving you feeling more rested.“Women with sleep disturbances due to [hot flashes] or bone aches often state that HRT helps clarity of thought. That makes sense after one’s sleep quality improves,” Kauffman said.Currently, hormone therapy remains a treatment option for menopause rather than a preventive drug for age-related conditions. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Forcerecommends againstusing this treatment to prevent chronic conditions after menopause.How to Balance Hormones NaturallyWhat This Means For YouMenopause can come with uncomfortable symptoms and changes. Hormone therapy may relieve some of these, but this comes with many risks and benefits. Consider speaking with a healthcare provider to determine if this treatment is right for you.

Hormone therapy can help manage menopause symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness, but it might have one more surprising benefit: slowing biological aging.

Women who have used hormone therapy were biologically younger than those who had never used it, according to a study published onJAMA Network Open. Researchers found that the pace of biological aging was slower for women who started hormone therapy after age 55 or used it for four to eight years.

Menopause is a natural part of aging and marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle. This typically happens around age 51, following a transitional time (perimenopause) that can last seven to 14 years.During this time, hormone levels fluctuate, causing uncomfortable symptoms like hot flashes, depression, pain during sex, and sleep disturbances.Some women use hormone therapy—also calledhormone replacement therapy (HRT)or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)—to relieve menopause symptoms.

However, hormone therapies may increase the risk of certain cancers, blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes, so these treatments are not recommended for everyone.

“Despite the concerns regarding hormone therapy (HT) in postmenopausal women, our findings highlight that promoting HT might be an option to achieve inclusive healthy aging,”Chenglong Li, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University in Beijing and co-author of the study, told Verywell in an email.

Hormone Therapy for Menopause

Do You Age Faster After Menopause?

During menopause, the ovaries stop producing eggs and hormones—specifically estrogen and progesterone. A 2016 study linked these hormonal shifts with accelerated biological aging and found that entering menopause earlier also speeds up the aging process.

The new study suggests that hormone therapy may slow this process. However, since it was an observational study, it doesn’t prove that hormone therapy directly slows down biological aging.

Menopause can bring about many biological changes that reduce someone’s quality of life, including memory issues and a higher risk ofurinary tract infection, heart disease, andosteoporosis (bone density loss).

While evidence on the benefits of hormone therapy for heart disease is mixed, it’s known to help protect against osteoporosis.

“Bone thickness is maximal around the age of 18–20 and slowly and steadily declines after that. It is accelerated at menopause in the absence of HRT,”Robert P. Kauffman, MD, MSCP, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, told Verywell in an email.

Menopause Diet: Foods to Support Changing Hormone Levels

Can Hormone Therapy Keep You Looking and Feeling Younger?

For many people, menopause and low estrogen levels lead to dry, sagging skin and hair loss.Limited observational studies suggest that hormone therapy may help reverse signs of skin aging, but more research is needed to confirm this.

“It would not be appropriate under contemporary practice to prescribe HRT to prevent wrinkles or otherwise look younger,” Kauffman said. However, he noted that some women experienced improved skin health with this therapy.

While hormone therapy might not make you look younger, it can relieve menopause symptoms and may help improve sleep and mood for some people, leaving you feeling more rested.

“Women with sleep disturbances due to [hot flashes] or bone aches often state that HRT helps clarity of thought. That makes sense after one’s sleep quality improves,” Kauffman said.

Currently, hormone therapy remains a treatment option for menopause rather than a preventive drug for age-related conditions. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Forcerecommends againstusing this treatment to prevent chronic conditions after menopause.

How to Balance Hormones Naturally

What This Means For YouMenopause can come with uncomfortable symptoms and changes. Hormone therapy may relieve some of these, but this comes with many risks and benefits. Consider speaking with a healthcare provider to determine if this treatment is right for you.

What This Means For You

Menopause can come with uncomfortable symptoms and changes. Hormone therapy may relieve some of these, but this comes with many risks and benefits. Consider speaking with a healthcare provider to determine if this treatment is right for you.

11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Liu Y, Li C.Hormone therapy and biological aging in postmenopausal women.JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430839. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30839Mount Sinai.Menopause.National Institute on Aging.What is menopause?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopausal hormone therapy.Levine ME, Lu AT, Chen BH, et al.Menopause accelerates biological aging.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;113(33):9327-9332. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604558113Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopause and the cardiovascular system.The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.Hormone therapy for menopause.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Caring for your skin in menopause.Brincat MP, Pollacco J.Menopause and the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on skin aging: a short review.Gynecol Reprod Endocrinol Metab. 2024;5(1):34-37. doi:10.53260/grem.2450106Johns Hopkins Medicine.How does menopause affect my sleep?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Can menopause cause depression?.

11 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Liu Y, Li C.Hormone therapy and biological aging in postmenopausal women.JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430839. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30839Mount Sinai.Menopause.National Institute on Aging.What is menopause?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopausal hormone therapy.Levine ME, Lu AT, Chen BH, et al.Menopause accelerates biological aging.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;113(33):9327-9332. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604558113Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopause and the cardiovascular system.The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.Hormone therapy for menopause.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Caring for your skin in menopause.Brincat MP, Pollacco J.Menopause and the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on skin aging: a short review.Gynecol Reprod Endocrinol Metab. 2024;5(1):34-37. doi:10.53260/grem.2450106Johns Hopkins Medicine.How does menopause affect my sleep?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Can menopause cause depression?.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Liu Y, Li C.Hormone therapy and biological aging in postmenopausal women.JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430839. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30839Mount Sinai.Menopause.National Institute on Aging.What is menopause?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopausal hormone therapy.Levine ME, Lu AT, Chen BH, et al.Menopause accelerates biological aging.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;113(33):9327-9332. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604558113Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopause and the cardiovascular system.The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.Hormone therapy for menopause.American Academy of Dermatology Association.Caring for your skin in menopause.Brincat MP, Pollacco J.Menopause and the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on skin aging: a short review.Gynecol Reprod Endocrinol Metab. 2024;5(1):34-37. doi:10.53260/grem.2450106Johns Hopkins Medicine.How does menopause affect my sleep?.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Can menopause cause depression?.

Liu Y, Li C.Hormone therapy and biological aging in postmenopausal women.JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2430839. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30839

Mount Sinai.Menopause.

National Institute on Aging.What is menopause?.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopausal hormone therapy.

Levine ME, Lu AT, Chen BH, et al.Menopause accelerates biological aging.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;113(33):9327-9332. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604558113

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Menopause and the cardiovascular system.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.Hormone therapy for menopause.

American Academy of Dermatology Association.Caring for your skin in menopause.

Brincat MP, Pollacco J.Menopause and the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on skin aging: a short review.Gynecol Reprod Endocrinol Metab. 2024;5(1):34-37. doi:10.53260/grem.2450106

Johns Hopkins Medicine.How does menopause affect my sleep?.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Can menopause cause depression?.

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