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Estrogen levels vary based on age, menstrual cycle, and health conditions. The predominant form of estrogen, estradiol, fluctuates in women of reproductive age but stabilizes in menopausal women. Abnormal levels can signal fertility and health problems.
Estrogen, the female sex hormone, varies in terms of normal levels. When tested, estrogen levels are measured in picograms per milliliter, abbreviated as pg/ml. What doctors consider normal estrogen levels for a woman of reproductive age and normal levels for a postmenopausal woman vary. Similarly, estrogen levels vary based on where a woman is in her menstrual cycle. Typically, the amount of estradiol, the predominant form of estrogen in human females, ranges between 50-400 pg/ml for women of reproductive age and below 20 pg/ml for menopausal and postmenopausal women.
The female body actually produces three different types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. Estradiol is responsible for signaling the body to begin the ovulation process, as well as other phases of the menstrual cycle. As one of the three forms of estrogen, estradiol is the most important. Testing for estrogen levels is most often equivalent to testing for estradiol.
In women of typical reproductive age, the level of estradiol in the body fluctuates from day to day, even from hour to hour. The body releases hormones in short bursts, based on many physiological factors such as the phases of the menstrual cycle, environmental and dietary factors, and age. If a woman’s body releases a surge of hormones just before a series of tests, the results would naturally show higher levels, though not necessarily high enough to classify as abnormally high levels. Since so many factors affect the amount of estrogen in a woman’s system at any given time, the range of test results thought to be within the normal range is understandably wide.
For menopausal women, normal estrogen levels typically don’t fluctuate as much as during the reproductive years. Since a woman’s menstrual cycle ends after menopause, her body requires less estradiol. The body no longer needs to rely on the hormones circulating in the body to trigger the ovulation cycle, so estrogen levels obviously drop in response. The hormonal system only needs to produce enough estrogen to maintain essential body functions, resulting in more stabilized and predictable estrogen levels.
Consistently lower than normal estrogen levels in women of typical reproductive age can signal fertility problems and other health problems. For example, low estrogen levels occur in anorexic women, athletes undergoing extreme exercise routines, women with polycystic ovary syndrome, and women with a recent failed pregnancy. Alternatively, high estrogen levels can signal several health problems, such as ovarian or adrenal cancers, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Medications such as steroids and ampicillin also affect normal estrogen levels.
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