Chicago ? Women with menopause symptoms who use prescription hormone medicines should limit the drugs to low, short-term doses, the leading group of menopause practitioners in North America advises.

Doctors who prescribe hormones also should re-evaluate a women’s benefits and risks from the drugs at each appointment, the group said.

The North American Menopause Society released the new recommendations at its 13th annual meeting Thursday.

The group attempted to answer questions from millions of American women and their doctors after one of the biggest women’s health developments in recent years.

In July, directors of the Women’s Health Initiative, a large federal research project, advised women that prescription hormone medicines may do more harm than good when taken over the long term. The study found a slightly higher risk of breast cancer, heart attacks and leg blood clots among long-term hormone users. That portion of the study was halted.

The menopause group addressed the questions by appointing a panel of experts to review that study and another study released in the spring that found the same prescription hormone combination did not protect women from heart attack and stroke, as commonly believed.

The panel’s recommendations:

l Menopause hormones should primarily be prescribed for short-term symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

l Lower-than-standard doses should be tried when hormone drugs are used. Typical doses up to now have been 0.3 milligrams to 0.625 milligrams of estrogen and 2.5 milligrams of progestin once a day.

l Doctors first should try alternatives to hormone drugs to prevent osteoporosis, a brittle bone disease.

l Menopause hormones should not be used to avoid or to treat heart disease. Speakers said soy products, exercise and cholesterol-lowering medicines are better choices.

l Hormone patches and creams may cause fewer side effects, but long-term risks are not well-studied.

l Doctors should compile a profile of each woman’s benefits and risks if she uses prescription hormones for menopause symptoms and talk with her about known risks of the drugs.