Vaginal estrogen and association with dementia: A nationwide population-based study

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Introduction: Use of systemic hormone therapy has been positively associated with development of dementia. Little is known about the dose-dependent effect of vaginal estradiol on dementia risk. Methods: We assessed associations between cumulative dose of vaginal estradiol tablets and dementia in a case-control study nested in a nationwide Danish cohort of women aged 50 to 60 years at study initiation, who did not use systemic hormone therapy. Each case was age-matched to 10 female controls. Results: A total of 4574 dementia cases were matched to 45,740 controls. Cumulative use of vaginal estradiol tablets was not associated with all-cause dementia; adjusted hazard ratio 1.02 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.89–1.18) for low dose (< 750 mcg), 1.07 (0.94–1.21) for medium dose (750–2000 mcg), and 0.93 (0.84–1.03) for high dose (> 2000 mcg). Similarly, Alzheimer's disease (AD) only was not associated with vaginal estradiol. Discussion: Exposure to vaginal estradiol tablets was not associated with all-cause dementia or AD only.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAlzheimer's and Dementia
Volume18
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)625-634
Number of pages10
ISSN1552-5260
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 the Alzheimer's Association

    Research areas

  • Alzheimer's disease, dementia, hormone therapy, nationwide study, pharmacoepidemiology, register study, risk factor, vaginal estrogen

ID: 275942891