The findings are based on a study of 1.3m women aged 50 and over who were taking part in the Million Women Study.
The women were questioned about HRT use and how many children they had given birth to, and were followed up over six years.
Overall, they found that every successive birth increased the risk of a knee replacement by 8%.
Current use of HRT boosted the chances of a knee replacement by 58% compared with those who had never used HRT.
sanjay.tanday@haymarket.com
BMJ Online 2008
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Birth increases mother's knee replacement risk by 8%
Serial motherhood and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use can increase the likelihood of having a knee replacement, UK research suggests.
