High cholesterol in women can come from things you can change, like diet and activity, or things you can’t, like age, hormones, and genetics. Some factors are out of your control, but healthy lifestyle choices can help lower your chances of getting high cholesterol.
1. Hormone Changes
Due to hormonal changes, cholesterol may go up during perimenopause and menopause.
Estrogen decline is linked to higher total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) reflects a woman’s egg supply and helps assess fertility. As menopause gets closer, AMH goes down and often happens at the same time as cholesterol changes, including higher total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good” cholesterol).
Hormonal changes lead to higher cholesterol, affecting the risk of heart disease later in life.
2. Age
Cholesterol levels may rise with age as the body becomes less efficient at clearing cholesterol from the blood. This effect may be more noticeable in females due to aging and menopause.
3. Health Conditions
Certain health conditions increase the risk of high cholesterol. In some cases, both the condition and the medications used to treat it may raise cholesterol levels, including:
- Diabetes
- Chronic kidney disease
- Lupus
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Hypothyroidism
- Sleep apnea
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Having these conditions doesn’t mean you’ll definitely have high cholesterol. Making lifestyle changes can help prevent it.
4. Lifestyle Factors
Certain lifestyle factors cause high cholesterol in women, including the following:
- Eating a diet high in saturated fat and trans fat
- Stress
- Not being physically active
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking
- Being overweight or obese
- Getting little or low-quality sleep
You can change your lifestyle. And for most people, doing so helps lower the risk of high cholesterol.
5. Medications
Certain medications can raise your cholesterol, including the following:
- Steroids
- Certain antipsychotic and anticonvulsant medications
- Immunosuppressants like cyclosporine and tacrolimus
- Arrhythmia medicines, such as amiodarone
- Diabetes medications like Jardiance and Farxiga
- Beta-blockers
- Diuretics
- Retinols like Accutane
Talk with your healthcare provider about how your medications might affect your cholesterol.
6. Genetics
High cholesterol can run in families because of genetics. Genetic mutations cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), leading to very high LDL cholesterol levels that can get worse with age if not treated.
Cholesterol tends to be higher in females with FH than in males because of delayed diagnosis.
FH is relatively rare. Still, a family history of high cholesterol may increase your chance of having high cholesterol.
