Estradiol
Estradiol is the primary estrogen. In females it varies widely by menstrual cycle phase and falls after menopause; in males it is much lower and more stable.
Unit: pg/mL · 12 slices · age and sex · 1 source
Filed under panels: Hormones · topics: Endocrine
Estradiol is the most potent estrogen, measured here in pg/mL from the NHANES sex steroid hormone panel. Female estradiol varies enormously across the menstrual cycle and declines sharply after menopause, so the population distribution for premenopausal age bands is very wide. Male estradiol is much lower and more stable. These are population percentiles across the full sampled group, not phase-specific clinical reference intervals.
Population Distribution
Browse by Demographic
| Age (years) | male (pg/mL) | female (pg/mL) |
|---|---|---|
| 20-29 | 11–46 (24.3) | 7.3–282.4 (63.6) |
| 30-39 | 12.1–42.6 (24.6) | 6.5–323.5 (78.7) |
| 40-49 | 10.3–40.5 (23.7) | 2.7–311.2 (72.5) |
| 50-59 | 12.7–49.4 (24.9) | 1.2–94.8 (6.4) |
| 60-69 | 13.3–47.6 (26) | 1.2–31.3 (5.5) |
| 70+ | 11–43.6 (24.4) | 1.2–18.9 (4.6) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the female estradiol distribution so wide?
Estradiol changes several-fold across the menstrual cycle and drops after menopause. A single population sample captures women at every cycle phase and menopausal stage, so the spread within an age band is large by nature, not because of measurement noise.
Why is male estradiol so much lower than female estradiol?
In males, estradiol is produced mainly by peripheral conversion of testosterone rather than by the ovaries. The resulting concentrations are far lower and vary less than in premenopausal females.
How does NHANES handle hormone values below the detection limit?
When a result falls below the assay's lower limit of detection, NHANES replaces it with the detection limit divided by the square root of 2. For FSH, values below 0.30 mIU/mL were recoded as below detection and imputed the same way. In groups where many people have low concentrations, the lower percentiles can reflect this imputation rather than distinct measured values.