Photo Credit: Dzmitry Skazau

The following is a summary of “Menopausal hormone therapy and risk for dementia in women with CKD: A nationwide observational cohort study,” published in the January 2024 issue of Nephrology by Huh et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) could serve as a cognitive shield for postmenopausal women with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a population facing heightened risks of both premature menopause and dementia.

They identified women over 40 years, with or without HRT, through the 2009 National Health Screening Questionnaire. For women newly diagnosed with CKD (2009 and 2013), HRT served as an exposure variable, and participants were tracked from the CKD diagnosis day (December 2019). Dementia risk was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, determining the HR.

The results showed 755,426 postmenopausal women with CKD, with a median follow-up of 7.3 (IQR, 5.8–8.7) years. All-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia occurred in 107,848 (14.3%), 87,833 (11.6%), and 10,245 (1.4%) women, respectively. HRT demonstrated a significant link with a reduced risk for dementia in the adjusted Cox regression model (all-cause dementia: HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.78–0.82; P<0.001; Alzheimer’s disease: HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.77–0.82; P<0.001; vascular dementia: HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.74–0.87; P<0.001).

Investigators concluded that HRT was linked to reduced cognitive decline in postmenopausal women with CKD, warranting further research on its potential to prevent dementia in this population.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nep.14260