5 Labs Every Woman 40+ Should Be Getting & How To Ask Your MD

Key Points:

• Standard lab tests often fail to capture the nuanced hormonal and metabolic changes women experience during perimenopause, leading to missed diagnoses and untreated risks, particularly for cardiovascular disease.
• ApoB and Lipoprotein(a) are critical but under-tested markers that better indicate cardiovascular risk in midlife women than traditional cholesterol panels, as their levels tend to rise during menopause.
• Insulin resistance and elevated fasting insulin levels during perimenopause contribute to symptoms like hot flashes and increase cardiovascular risk, yet fasting insulin is rarely tested compared to hemoglobin A1C.
• Common nutrient deficiencies such as vitamin D and ferritin are frequently overlooked in women over 40, despite their association with symptoms like fatigue, hair loss, and autoimmune disease activity, especially in conditions like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
• Thyroid dysfunction and low testosterone in women are often underdiagnosed due to reliance on limited testing (e.g., TSH alone) and challenges in interpreting hormone levels, underscoring the need for more comprehensive and individualized lab assessments during midlife.