---
title: Does the menstrual cycle change how your body's stress hormone system responds?
description: No. Baseline stress hormone levels and the body's response to a stress hormone injection did not change across different menstrual cycle phases.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/pituitary-responses-to-synthetic-corticotropin-releasing-hormone-absence-of-1987/
---

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- Does the menstrual cycle change how your body's stress hormone system responds?

Lab study, 1987

# Does the menstrual cycle change how your body's stress hormone system responds?

No. Baseline stress hormone levels and the body's response to a stress hormone injection did not change across different menstrual cycle phases.

 Early or limited evidence

Women during different menstrual cycle phases, and women with surgical removal of ovaries receiving hormone replacement

## What they did

Women were tested at three different times in their cycle: early follicular phase, late follicular phase, and midluteal phase. At each test, researchers injected a synthetic stress hormone and measured the body's response by checking stress hormones in the blood. Some women who had their ovaries surgically removed were also tested while taking estrogen or estrogen plus progesterone.

## What they found

Baseline stress hormone levels measured at 9:00 AM did not change across menstrual phases. The body's response to the synthetic stress hormone injection also did not change across cycle phases. In women receiving hormone replacement, taking estrogen alone or estrogen with progesterone did not change baseline levels or the response to the injection.

## What it means for you

Normal changes in estrogen and progesterone during your menstrual cycle do not appear to affect how your body's stress hormone system works. The study was limited because it tested stress response in a controlled lab setting with a single hormone injection, which may not reflect how your body responds to real-world stress.

3

cycle phases tested

4

women with hormone replacement

9:00 AM

time of baseline measurement

## About the study

Original title Pituitary responses to synthetic corticotropin-releasing hormone: absence of modulatory effects by estrogen and progestin Authors Liu JH, Rasmussen DD, Rivier J et al. Journal American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Year 1987 Study design Lab study Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(87)80229-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-9378(87)80229-6)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[GnRH agonists and ovarian suppression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-gnrh/)[Surgical menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-surgery/)

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