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Estrogens, episodic memory, and Alzheimer's disease: a critical update
Henderson VW.. Seminars in reproductive medicine, 2009-04-28
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Estrogen-containing hormone therapy initiated during late postmenopause does not improve episodic memory (an important early symptom of Alzheimer's disease), and it increases dementia risk. Cognitive consequences of exogenous estrogen exposures during midlife are less certain. Observational evidence implies that use of hormone therapy at a younger age close to the time of menopause may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease later in life. However, there are concerns that observational findings may be systematically biased. Partial insight on this critical issue may be gleaned from results of ongoing clinical trials involving midlife postmenopausal women (Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estrogen; Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study). The effects of exogenous midlife estrogen exposures and Alzheimer risk can also be approached through better animal models, through carefully designed cohort studies, and through use of surrogate outcomes in randomized controlled trials in midlife women. Selective estrogen receptor modulators have the potential to affect cognitive outcomes and also merit additional study.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Henderson, V. W. (2009). Estrogens, episodic memory, and Alzheimer's disease: a critical update. Seminars in reproductive medicine. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1216281
Vancouver
Henderson VW. Estrogens, episodic memory, and Alzheimer's disease: a critical update. Seminars in reproductive medicine. 2009. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1216281. PMID: 19401959.
BibTeX
@article{henderson2009-19401959,
author = {Henderson, V. W.},
title = {{Estrogens, episodic memory, and Alzheimer's disease: a critical update}},
journal = {Seminars in reproductive medicine},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1055/s-0029-1216281},
pmid = {19401959},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1216281}
}
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Key findings
- Partial insight on this critical issue may be gleaned from results of ongoing clinical trials involving midlife postmenopausal women (Early versus Late Intervention Trial with Estrogen; Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study).
Why it matters
This review reports that estrogen-containing hormone therapy started in late postmenopause does not improve episodic memory and increases dementia risk. Whether estrogen exposure in midlife affects later Alzheimer's risk is still uncertain and is being studied in ongoing trials.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Seminars in reproductive medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Seminars in Reproductive Medicine: journal h-index 115 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2009 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 50 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.6 citations a year over 19 year(s) since 2009 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Victor W. Henderson: h-index 79 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 19401959) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
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