While it has been known for a while that any drugs containing estrogen can impact a woman’s cholesterol levels, it has now been demonstrated by researchers that even menstrual cycles can vary cholesterol levels.
So, it isn’t just drugs and treatments that could impact the cholesterol count of women, but even their own bio rhythms as manifested through the menstrual cycle, can cause cholesterol to go up or down. And this intra month variation could be as much as 19%.
In the study, women of child bearing age were checked to measure their cholesterol levels 14 times in two months. In one month, the average variation in measurement of cholesterol levels was 19 percent.
When estrogen levels rose, so did the levels of good cholesterol or HDL – HDL was highest during ovulation. Also a corresponding fall in LDL or bad cholesterol was seen with rising estrogen levels. So when a reading was taken two weeks later, or when estrogen levels were lowest, the cholesterol reading was very different.
So, hormone levels and time of month are aspects that are important to factor into a cholesterol reading, to get a more accurate idea of a woman’s actual cholesterol levels.
