Levels of bad cholesterol rise during menopause, and 10% of this increase is due to shifts in sex hormones. That’s the finding of research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC.
Women usually undergo menopause at the age of 48 to 52 years, leading to a decline in oestrogen and increase in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Menopause is thought to predispose women to heart disease since it typically develops 10 years later than in men, and risk rises after menopause. Previous studies have shown that menopause is associated with heart disease-promoting levels of metabolites, but this study is the first to link this shift with changes in female sex hormones. The metabolite shifts were partially ameliorated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
“Menopause is unavoidable but it is possible that the negative metabolite shift can be…
