Dr. Bove also reported that there were no associations between HRT use ever vs. never in any of the outcomes examined, "even when HRT use was stratified according to its timing of initiation relative to menopause. Additionally, we did not find a significant association between duration of HRT use and any of the neurologic outcomes."
She acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including the fact that study participants were required to be nondemented at baseline. "This may have led to exclusion bias if there were early effects of menopause on cognitive function," Dr. Bove said. "The cognitive outcomes were weighted toward memory, and the reproductive histories were patient reported and retrospective, so there’s a limited definition of surgical menopause. We don’t have any information as to whether the oophorectomies were unilateral or bilateral, or the indication for the surgeries. There was also limited data about HRT use."
Dr. Bove said that she had no relevant financial disclosures.