Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) affects males and females differently
because their bodies produce and respond to different main sex hormones.
The two main responsible hormones are estrogen and testosterone.
In females, HRT usually involves estrogen with or without progesterone to
treat menopause. (Sealock & Seneviratne, 2025, p. 577). Estrogen helps to
reduce symptoms like hot flashes and bone loss. But, adding estrogen can
increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, and certain cancers such as breast or
endometrial cancer. (Power-Kean et al., 2023, p. 1495). It happens because
estrogen can stimulate the cell growth in breast and uterine tissue which can
increase clotting factors in the blood and leads to more serious
complications.
In males,
Power-Kean, K., Zettel, S., Mohamed Toufic El-Hussein, S., Huether, S. E., &
McCance, K. L. (2023).7
Huether and McCance’s understanding
pathophysiology: Canadian edition
7(2nd ed.). Elsevier.
Sealock, K., & Seneviratne, C. (2025).7
Lilley’s pharmacology for Canadian
health care practice7
(5th ed.). Elsevier.