Hormone replacement: use in diabetics increases premature deaths

Diabetic women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are at increased risk of death from ischaemic heart disease (blocked vessels) and all other causes.

The results are based on nearly 20,000 female nurses, aged at least 45, who were surveyed and followed about their lifestyle, including HRT use, from 1993 to 1998.

Current HRT use was associated with a 3.2-, 4.2-, and 9.2-fold increased risk of death, ischaemic heart disease, and heart attack, respectively, compared with non-diabetics who never