Higher Estrogen Levels During Pregnancy in Andean Than European Residents of High Altitude Suggest Differences in Aromatase Activity

Abstract

Chronic hypoxia does not lower but rather raises estrogen levels in multigenerational Andeans vs shorter-term Europeans, possibly as the result of greater aromatase activity. Because hypoxia alone does not lower estrogen, other attributes of the disease may be responsible for the lower estrogen levels seen previously in preeclamptic women.