Estrogen can reduce the chemical imbalances that can lead to cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and stroke in post-menopausal women, however, recent studies have reported detrimental effects of long-term use of hormone replacement therapy.

Study co-author Michael D. Brown of Temple University tracked 48 sedentary post-menopausal women -- 21 on hormone replacement therapy and 27 not on hormone replacement therapy -- through an exercise program consisting of three supervised sessions of aerobic exercise per week for 24 weeks. Participants were ages 50 to 75.

Weight loss was limited to 5 percent or less of the women's initial body weight in order to determine the independent effects of aerobic exercise training on oxidative stress, Brown said.

The study, published in the spring issue of the Journal of Women and Aging, found hormone replacement users and non-users both experienced an 11 percent to 18 percent drop in plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, an indicator of oxidative stress.

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