Hormone therapy in menopause increases rheumatoid arthritis risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Pooled result · RA risk, overallResult — go to the resultRate Ratio 1.15 95% CI 1.10–1.21Authors' conclusion
Current menopausal hormone therapy use is associated with a modestly higher incidence of rheumatoid arthritis.
Study context
- Population
- Postmenopausal women; observational studies from MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library up to October 20255 studies
- Comparison
- Menopausal hormone therapy use vs no use
- Outcome
- RA incidence
Methodological detailsPRISMA, random-effects models, subgroup analyses (current vs former use, therapy duration)
- PRISMA
- Random-effects models
- Subgroup analyses (current vs former use, therapy duration)
Pooled result
RA risk, overall
Rate Ratio
1.15
95% CI 1.10–1.21
P < 0.001
Menopausal hormone therapy usevs no use
Rate Ratio 1.15 (95% CI 1.10–1.21); P < 0.001
As reported in the abstract
Further pooled results
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) risk by current vs former use (subgroups)
| Rate Ratio (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Current users | 1.18 (1.00–1.37) | P = 0.04 | |
| Former users | 1.11 (0.94–1.32) | P = 0.20 | |
| 0.512Rate Ratio (log scale) |
RA risk with long-term use (≥4 years) (subgroup)
| Rate Ratio (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term use (≥4 years) | 1.19 (1.07–1.33) | P = 0.002 | |
| 0.512Rate Ratio (log scale) |
Original publication
Hormone therapy in menopause increases rheumatoid arthritis risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Published 22 January 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →