Postmenstrual women receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may get gallbladder disease, but the risk varies depending on how the hormones are given.
HRT is taken by large numbers of women to relieve the symptoms of menopause, despite evidence of various health risks, including higher risk of breast cancer and stroke. Under this therapy, hormones may be given either by menopausal therapy patch or gels, known as transdermal therapy or taken orally as tablets of oestrogen and progesterone.
Gall bladder disease is common in older women. To determine whether HRT increases the risk of gallbladder disease in postmenopausal women, American researchers followed 1,001,391 postmenopausal women aged around 55 years for 6 years. The women underwent screenings for detecting breast cancer and gallbladder disease or cholecystectomy.
It was found that women currently using HRT were 64 percent more likely to be hospitalised for gallbladder disease, but they were only 17 percent more likely to be admitted if they were using gels or patches. Further, higher doses of hormone pills containing oestrogen were associated with a higher risk of cholecystectomy than lower doses. The risk seemed mainly confined to oestrogen. Adding progesterone, another hormone, to the pill did not have a significant impact on the risk of gallbladder disease.
Gallbladder disease is common in postmenopausal women and HRT increases the risk. Use of transdermal patches rather than oral therapy over a five-year period could avoid one cholecystectomy in every 140 users.
British Medical Journal
July 2008
July 2008