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Recently, measuring the level of cortisol has become a fairly common practice in private laboratories. Some include it in the package of services even automatically.
After all, in the conditions of stress in which we have all been for the last year, cortisol is the main hormone that controls our body.
But what does knowing the level of this hormone give us? When and how should it be measured?
Cortisol is our friend until it becomes too much.
It has great benefits when it is released in response to short-term stress, or in the morning, giving us a wake-up call without an alarm. When there is always a lot of it, it brings the harmful condition.
What is the role of cortisol in the body?
- regulates the body’s response to stress
- helps control the body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates or our metabolism
- prevents inflammation
- regulates blood pressure
- regulates the level of sugar in the blood
- helps control the sleep cycle.
Excess cortisol contributes to the retention of water and ions in the body, which leads to the formation of edema. It prevents muscles and skin from recovering. Prolonged exposure to cortisol impairs the intestine’s ability to absorb vitamins and trace elements. Hair, accumulating extremely high doses of cortisol, grows worse and lives less. Chronic stress suppresses the immune response, especially the ability to recognize and kill tumor cells, which provokes the development of oncology. Changes in diurnal cortisol fluctuations lead to sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue.
The classical theory of stress distinguishes three stages: acute stress, habituation and exhaustion. It is habituation that helps us survive war or long-term illness. However, exhaustion must be prevented.
- Acute stress is an accelerated heart rate, dilated pupils, increased blood glucose levels, breakdown of stored fats, and also halting digestion. We cannot live in this state for long.
- Chronic stress causes cortisol dysfunction, leading to systemic inflammation, depression, and accelerated cellular aging.
Stressful events are facts of life. If we cannot change the current situation, we can take steps to deal with the impact of these events on us. However control of cortisol level in the blood is of no importance in such cases.
Some studies have shown that yoga and meditation can help lower cortisol levels. Moderate physical activity, such as jogging, swimming, or cycling, can also be helpful in regulating cortisol levels.
In rare cases, when a person’s body is exposed to high levels of cortisol for a long period of time, Cushing’s syndrome occurs, usually associated with an adrenal tumor (endogenous hypercorticism) or excessive use of corticosteroids (exogenous hypercorticism).
This is a rare and serious disease, which is treated by an endocrinologist.It is necessary to examine the level of cortisol precisely in order to rule out or diagnose this condition in time.
What conditions bring us the indications for the determination of the cortisol level?
- rapid weight gain and obesity, especially in the abdomen
- purple stretch marks (stretch marks) on the body (thighs, chest, stomach)
- high blood pressure that is difficult to correct
- constant fatigue, depressive states
- muscle weakness and osteoporosis at a young age
- change in the oval of the face (moon-shaped face), edema
- amenorrhea (disruption of the menstrual cycle with delays) and hirsutism (excessive body hair growth) in women (especially against the background of obesity)
- metabolic changes and diabetes.
First of all, measuring the basal level of cortisol in the blood does not give any useful information at all.
To rule out endogenous hypercorticism (suspended production of cortisol by the adrenal glands), the following tests are performed:
- determination of the level of free cortisol in urine collected by the patient within 24 hours (daily urine)
- determination of the level of free cortisol in saliva collected by the patient in the evening (at 11:00 p.m.)
- determining the level of cortisol in the blood in the morning after taking 1 mg of dexamethasone the night before (the so-called small dexamethasone test).
The main goal of determining the level of any hormones is the timely diagnosis of disorders of the functions of the endocrine glands, and not functional states that do not require treatment and hormonal correction. Clinical manifestations are often more informative than any laboratory tests.
If you have conditions that are associated with a suspected pathological increase in cortisol, contact an experienced endocrinologist who will help determine the necessary range of examinations and prescribe the necessary treatment and support.