Does hormone replacement therapy prevent osteoporosis?

Yes, an option: There are many things you can do to avoid osteoporosis. Things you can't change: your family history, race, aging. Things you can change: get adequate calcium: 1500 mg per day, vit d 2000 iu per day, physical activity: 150 minutes per week (or 50 jumps per day), have normal tsh, get regular screening, and know your personal risk factors. Have a frax score done to help you decide what to do.

YES: Calcium, vit d and weight bearing exercise help prevent osteoporosis. None of these alone, or in combination are as effective as estrogen in post menopausal women. Don't smoke and limit expsoure to steroids.

Yes: This is actually the agreed upon long term health benefit of hrt. A study at creighton univ in the 1980s showed that even with adequate calcium & vit d women still lose 2% of their bone mass yearly if they are not on estrogen postmenopause. Despite all the controversy over estrogens, they do have some major health benefits.