Menopause, not the natural aging process, causes a sudden increase in cholesterol levels, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
As we approach menopause, many women have a very striking increase in the level of cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease later, said Karen A. Matthews, professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study. Matthews and his team followed 1.054 American women over a period of 10 years (1).
In almost all women, cholesterol levels surged at the time of menopause (which occurs on average around 50 years but can occur as early as 40 and as late as 60 years). In the window of around 2 years of their last menstruation, the bad cholesterol (LDL) increased on average by 9% (10.5 points). Total cholesterol increased by 6.5%.
Other risk factors such as insulin resistance and systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading), also increased during the study but at a steady pace, suggesting that these increases were not related to aging and menopause. Of all risk factors measured, the changes in cholesterol levels were higher.
This increase in cholesterol can definitely have an impact on women’s health, said Dr. Vera Bittner in an editorial accompanying the article. If a woman has a cholesterol level low base, this change may not make any difference, but if risk factors are already stretched in multiple categories, this may put women at significantly higher risk, “she said .
