frequently see patients who get saliva testing for various hormone levels from other practitioners they have seen in the past, so this is common practice in many integrative and complementary health clinics. However, the questions my patients usually will ask me knowing that I like to practice evidence-based medicine as much as possible is whether they can fully trust the saliva testing results.
During my integrative medicine fellowship, we had a module that addressed the validity of saliva testing for various hormone levels. As we reviewed the literature on salivary hormone testing, the general consensus is that saliva testing is appropriate for cortisol levels but not necessarily dependable for other hormone levels as compared to the gold standard for serum testing.
So, in general, I still repeat hormone levels via serum testing at appropriate times of the day and month depending on which levels I am checking on. However, I will use saliva testing for cortisol checks so that we can look at the curve throughout any given day for patients who I am suspicious for adrenal testing.
continue to read here
During my integrative medicine fellowship, we had a module that addressed the validity of saliva testing for various hormone levels. As we reviewed the literature on salivary hormone testing, the general consensus is that saliva testing is appropriate for cortisol levels but not necessarily dependable for other hormone levels as compared to the gold standard for serum testing.
So, in general, I still repeat hormone levels via serum testing at appropriate times of the day and month depending on which levels I am checking on. However, I will use saliva testing for cortisol checks so that we can look at the curve throughout any given day for patients who I am suspicious for adrenal testing.
continue to read here
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