Postmenopausal women prescribed oestrogen-only menopausal hormone therapy are at increased risk of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and complications including oesophageal stricture, a large analysis shows.

US researchers say their results suggest a need for consideration of alternatives, such as progesterone-only therapy, in patients who already have reflux-related symptoms.

Drawing upon data from more than one million postmenopausal women aged 55 and over, the authors investigated the relationship between menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and the risk of developing gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Most of the women (89%) did not use MHT, while oestrogen-only, progesterone-only or combination therapy was reported among 10%, 1% and 0.4% of women, respectively.