More than one million women in Britain currently use some form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which is prescribed to treat the symptoms of the menopause by boosting oestrogen levels and other hormones.
This in turn helps to alleviate the impact of a range of associated conditions like hot flushes, anxiety, joint pain, disturbed sleep, night sweats and vaginal dryness.
