It’s potentially good news for women struggling with symptoms of menopause in their 40s and 50s.

A new paper published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal says more of these women should be offered hormonal therapy by their doctors.

Many women in mid-life have hot flashes, disrupted sleep and mood changes that can be debilitating and menopausal hormone therapy can treat those symptoms.

Dr. Michelle Jacobson of Women’s College Hospital is a co-author of the report.

She says doctors have been hesitant to prescribe hormone therapy after a study in the 1990s found an association with higher breast cancer and stroke risks.

“What we’ve published is 20 years of review data that has come from looking at these studies and saying hey, if you give hormone therapy to the right people who are suffering, you’re not putting them at any significant risk and you may actually really improve their quality of life and other factors as well,” Jacobson told CP24.

She also say these recent studies show risks are mostly associated with women 60 years of age and older.

And she says doctors need to evaluate the risks and benefits for perimenopausal patients in their 40s and 50s on an individual basis.