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.
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
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