Cortisol and other hormones
How cortisol relates to other hormones and medicines, and what that means for testing.
Guides
- Cortisol and menopauseDoes menopause change cortisol, or cause hot flashes through it? What the research shows, and why a blood test is not usually needed to diagnose menopause.
- Cortisol and PCOSIs cortisol linked to PCOS? What a small study found, why no test diagnoses PCOS, how Cushing's syndrome can look like it, and where DHEA-S and cortisol tests fit.
- Cortisol and testosteroneHow cortisol and testosterone relate, what reviews say about stress and sleep, when low testosterone has another cause, and which blood tests answer which question.
- Cortisol and thyroidHow cortisol and the thyroid are linked, what one small study shows about TSH and cortisol, and why TSH, not cortisol, is the usual first thyroid test.
- Cortisol in pregnancyCortisol normally rises in pregnancy, which changes how a blood test reads. What happens with adrenal insufficiency, after birth and in breast milk.
- Does birth control increase cortisol?Estrogen-containing birth control pills raise the protein that carries cortisol, which raises total cortisol on a blood test. What that means and what to tell the lab.
- Prednisone and cortisolPrednisone isn't cortisol. See how steroid medicines lower your own cortisol, how they can change a cortisol test, and what hydrocortisone and dexamethasone are.