A large study has found that women who used hormone therapy later in life had a lower risk of developing dementia. The findings were published August 12, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers emphasized that the results show an association and do not demonstrate that hormone therapy can prevent dementia.
"While these findings help us better understand the relationship between hormone therapy use and various markers of dementia, more research needs to be done before we can make recommendations to women about their use of these therapies in relation to their brain health," said study author Jennifer Bruno, PhD, of Stanford Medicine in Stanford, California. "This study looked back at women who were using hormone therapy decades ago with the timing and type of use differing from what is current practice for most women today, so the results are informative, but they may not apply to today's standards."
More Than 21,000 Women Studied
Researchers analyzed medical information from two large data sets that together included 21,462 female participants who underwent clinical testing while they were alive. In one data set, 728 participants received brain scans or biomarker testing during life. In the other, 2,959 participants underwent autopsies after death, at an average age of 82, so researchers could look for evidence of Alzheimer's disease.
