Of the 62 million women of childbearing age in the United States, 28 percent used oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, for pregnancy prevention between 2006 and 2008, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Women under age 30 most often choose birth control pills. Oral contraceptives can affect cholesterol and triglyceride levels, with different pill combinations having different effects. Most of the time, the pills' effects on your cholesterol levels aren't enough to have health significance, but if you already have high cholesterol levels, your doctor may prefer to prescribe the type of oral contraceptive least likely to affect your lipid levels.
Estrogen Effects
Oral contraceptives that contain larger quantities of synthetic estrogen generally decrease low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, the type of cholesterol that increases the risk of heart disease, according to MayoClinic.com. Oral contraceptives that contain high amounts of estrogen also increase high-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol, sometimes called the "good" type of cholesterol, since it removes LDL from your bloodstream. High estrogen pills increase your total cholesterol and also increase your triglyceride levels. High levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, can increase your risk of developing atherosclerosis, a buildup of cholesterol on the inside of the artery walls that can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Progestin Effects
Progestins have the opposite effect of estrogen on your lipid levels, raising LDL and decreasing HDL and triglycerides. Oral contraceptives that contain only progestins have more negative effects than combination pills that contain both synthetic estrogen and progesterone.
Combination Pills
Because the positive effects of estrogen offset the negative effects of estrogen, the overall effect of combination oral contraceptives is a slightly positive effect on HDL levels and a lowering of LDL levels, Frederick R. Jelovsek, M.D. explains on Women's Health Resource.
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