From the Doctor’s Desk: Salivary Hormone Testing Backed by Science

Dr. Nathan Goodyear

Testing hormones through saliva is backed by science. But don’t take my word for it. In fact, it is well supported in the medical literature and is the right thing to do.  Below are links to several abstracts regarding salivary hormone testing. Read them for yourself and learn about the science behind this form of hormone testing.

• Belkien LD, Bordt J, Moller P, Hano R, Nieschlag E. Estradiol in saliva for monitoring follicular stimulation in an in vitro fertilization program. Fertil Steril 1985;44:322.
• Bolaji II, Tallon DF, O’Dwyer E, Fottrell PF. Assessment of bioavailability of oral micronized progesterone using a salivary progesterone enzymeimmunoassay. Gynecol Endocrinol 1993;7:101-110.
• Campbell BC, Ellison PT. Menstrual variation in salivary testosterone among regularly cycling women. Horm Res 1992;37:132-136.
• Aardal-Eriksson E, Karlberg BE, Holm AC. Salivary cortisol- and alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests. Clin Chem Lab Med 1998;36:215-222.

These articles are published in well-respected journals; and if you notice, they are not recent.  Salivary testing of hormones has been well published in the medical literature for some time now.

Here are a few quotes from these studies:

• “…salivary cortisol may be used as an alternative parameter in dynamic endocrine tests.”
• “…assessment of ovarian function…can be performed precisely with the saliva estradiol assay.”
• “…saliva collection has provided the medical and research community with an excellent medium for the monitoring of plasma steroid levels.”

Nowhere else in medicine do we blindly treat people without assessing a baseline and post treatment level(s). Balance is the key; not one individual hormone. Unfortunately, the medical field is very slow to learn and change.