How accurate are saliva tests for testing hormone levels?

Hi Catherine,

Someone told me that hormone testing, including saliva tests, are not accurate because our hormones are always changing. Just wanted your opinion.

Thank you,

Jackie

Dear Jackie,

In part, you are right. Our hormones do fluctuate throughout the day … as they do throughout our menstrual cycle. We can, nonetheless, with the aid of new technology, capture a fairly accurate ’snapshot’ of our hormones.

Our hormone levels tend to be at their highest first thing in the morning. But it isn’t always easy or practical to get ourselves off to a pathology collection centre at, say, 6am. And even if we could somehow manage it, all the rushing around trying to get there might have an adverse affect on our ‘true’ levels.

Capturing our body’s rhythymic release of our hormones is easily accomplished using a salivary hormone collection kit. It can be done any place and at the optimal time of day for hormone collection. AND saliva testing is painless ? NO NEEDLES. It negates the need for blood drawing, which all too often causes stress that can alter the accuracy of test results. And

Collecting saliva specimens at the same time each day throughout one full menstrual cycle will always ensure more accurate results.

These collection kits allow us to check up to six (6) hormones from one saliva specimen (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, melatonin and DHEA-S), providing extra collection tubes for multiple samples to be collected during a day or over a series of days.

The hormone melatonin, for example, is secreted with a distinct circadian rhythym - stimulated by darkness. A nocturnal collection of saliva very early in the morning in the dark is required, before we turn on our bedside lamp, or throw open our blinds. Once we flick on the overhead light, our body’s melatonin levels start to drop significantly.

Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stressors such as emotional, mental and physical stress. Depending on what your doctor believes is necessary in your circumstances, from one to four specimens can be collected over the course of a day; at 6am, 12 noon, 6pm and 10pm.

Saliva testing is the most reliable way to measure free, bio-available hormone activity - those hormones actually doing their job at the cell level. Most blood tests do not measure ?bio-available? hormone levels.

In addition, saliva hormone testing more accurately reflects tissue uptake and response of hormones delivered (topically) through the skin, in creams, gels, or patches.

Blood and urine assays significantly underestimate hormones delivered topically, often resulting in overdosing.

If you are using creams, gels or patches, you will need to allow at least 12 hours after the last application before you collect your sample. If you’re using troches/lozenges, you’ll need to allow a three (3) day break before collecting saliva.

While blood tests have been the most common method of testing, in the past few years, more and more labs are offering saliva testing.

So you see, Jackie, modern advances in specialised and functional pathology have provided us with a solution to the concerns you raise here.