Oral menopausal hormone therapy linked to higher blood clot risk; transdermal treatment shows no overall increase

A large Danish study published in The BMJ indicates that the current use of oral menopausal hormone therapy, also referred to as hormone replacement therapy or HRT, is associated with an increased risk of blood clots in the legs or lungs. The research findings show that this elevated risk persists regardless of the dosage or the duration of the treatment.

In contrast, the study notes that transdermal treatment does not show an overall increase in the risk of blood clots. These results highlight a distinct difference in safety profiles between the oral and transdermal forms of menopausal hormone therapy.