How can reduced estrogen levels affect cholesterol and triglycerides?

During menopause, the significant decline in estrogen production—often by 80 percent or more—leads to physiological changes that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis.12

Specifically, the reduction in estrogen levels is associated with an increase in serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. Before menopause, estrogen typically helps protect the cardiovascular system by decreasing serum cholesterol concentrations. While estrogen also naturally increases serum triglyceride concentrations, the loss of its overall regulatory influence during menopause, combined with changes in vascular function and blood clotting factors, contributes to a heightened risk of arterial disease.13