It’s Time for Couples to have a New Discussion about High Cholesterol

New research suggests that previously unexplained cases of infertility could have been the result of high cholesterol. Researchers have come forward with startling information garnered during the first clinical study to identify an association between fertility and fat molecules in the bloodstream.

The study looked at 501 couples who were all actively trying to become pregnant. The researchers found that it consistently took longer for the couple to conceive if both partners had developed high cholesterol. This research team consisted of representatives from the National Institutes of Health, Emory University in Atlanta and the University at Buffalo.

The data also showed that:

• Pregnancy could be delayed if only the woman had high cholesterol.
• Pregnancy was not significantly delayed if the man had high cholesterol and the woman was in the normal range.

To be clear, couples wouldn’t be able to get pregnant without cholesterol, as this substance is necessary for the production of testosterone, estrogen and even sperm. However, too much or too little cholesterol will disrupt this delicate process according to Enrique Schisterman.

(Schisterman is the chief of the epidemiology branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and led this high cholesterol study.)

“We need optimal amounts,” said Schisterman. “An excess sometimes creates an imbalance of too much hormones, or too little hormones. You have to have a sweet spot.”

New Insight into Complications with Conception

Schisterman has also helped shine a new light on the man’s role in conception issues. A couple needs to work together to make healthier choices and manage their cholesterol levels.

The leader of this study knows better than most how difficult and painful these complications can be. He and his wife struggled achieving conception, but eventually opted for in vitro fertilization and adoption. This personal experience compelled Schisterman to devote his career to the study of fertility.

He’s also quite adamant that people should not take this as a recommendation to start taking cholesterol lowering medications when they become interested in getting pregnant. The entire point of high cholesterol clinical studies like this one are to establish a possible connection.

(Their research has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.)

Schisterman’s team did not take routine samples of overall cholesterol like what you’d expect in a doctor’s appointment. Instead, they evaluated the free cholesterol in participants’ blood streams using an unconventional metric.

First Study on Fertility and High Cholesterol Association

Finding couples who are willing to participate and monitoring them for an extended period of time poses a serious challenge for research studies. This is why no one has successfully attempted to sufficiently study the association between cholesterol levels and fertility– before now.

From 2005 to 2009, Schisterman’s team recruited couples from Michigan and Texas and monitored them for a year (or until they were pregnant). Some of the couples did not see it all the way till the end of the study.

They found that high cholesterol proved to be an issue even after they had accounted for other infertility risk factors like high body mass index.

High cholesterol does not have many identifiable symptoms. Couples who are concerned about their overall health should schedule an appointment with their doctor. They’ll be able to provide direction in the event that one or both partners have unhealthy levels of cholesterol.