WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD Aug. 12, 2010 -- Blood
cholesterol levels ebb and flow according a woman's menstrual
cycle, and screening tests should be timed accordingly for the
most accurate results, National Institutes of Health researchers
report online in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism. In their study, total cholesterol levels varied by
close to 20% over the course of women's cycles, and this was
even more pronounced among obese women over 40. "Cholesterol
levels are the highest in the first half of the cycle and then
after ovulation, they start to go down," says study researcher
Sunni L. Mumford, PhD, of the epidemiology branch of the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development in Rockville, Md. "Cholesterol testing should be
done at the same time of your cycle each month." Treatment
decisions should be based on the most accurate readings. The
researchers measured levels of the female sex hormone estrogen,
cholesterol, and other blood fat