Women with high cholesterol may struggle to have more than one child

Young women with high cholesterol may struggle to have more than one child, research suggests

  • Study of 4,300 women found those with too much bad fat in blood had less kids  
  • Twice as likely to only have one baby as those with healthy blood fat levels 
  • Study tracked Norwegian women aged 20 and over between 1994 and 2003

Young women who have high cholesterol may struggle to have more than one child, research suggests.

A study of 4,300 women found those with too much ‘bad’ fat in the blood – either LDL cholesterol or triglycerides – had fewer children later in life.

They were up to twice as likely to only have one baby as those with healthy blood fat levels, the researchers found.

And they were also more likely to struggle to have any children at all, although this effect was marginal.

Study of 4,300 women found those with too much ‘bad’ fat in the blood – either LDL cholesterol or triglycerides – had fewer children later in life (file photo)

The study, published in the BMJ Open journal, tracked Norwegian women aged 20 and over between 1994 and 2003.

The scientists took blood tests when the women had not yet conceived and then followed them up for the next decade.

They concluded that an ‘unhealthy’ blood fat profile of high LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and low levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, raised the risk of only getting pregnant once by between 20 and 100 per cent. Researchers, from the University of Bergen in Norway, believe cholesterol and other fat creates ‘oxidative stress’ in the body, which reduces fertility.

The researchers said bad fats could trigger problems such as polycystic ovary syndrome. 



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