'Youth elixir' adverts are making fake HRT claims

WOMEN are being bombarded with false claims that hormone replacement therapy will keep them slim, energetic and brain-sharp into old age by doctors on social media, a major study warns.

- By Lucy Johnston

And it has led for calls for drug regulators to work with tech companies to ensure they are given reliable and independent health advice.

In a hard-hitting paper published in the British Medical Journal, Dr Margaret McCartney and colleagues pulled apart the online hype surrounding HRT and testosterone.

They examined 180 separate claims or recommendations made across six different social media platforms. More than half of the claims came from professionals — including doctors, professors, psychologists, dieticians, nurses, sports scientists and physiotherapists.

The rest came from lay people, which included nutritionists, patients, media outlets and professional organisations.