Skip to main content

Cortisol Stress Impact

Meaning

The Cortisol Stress Impact refers to the comprehensive physiological and clinical consequences resulting from the body’s exposure to acute or chronic stressors, mediated predominantly by the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol. While cortisol is essential for life, orchestrating the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, its prolonged elevation or dysregulation can lead to significant pathology. This impact includes metabolic derangements, immune suppression, impaired cognitive function, and detrimental changes in body composition, such as central adiposity. Clinically assessing the diurnal cortisol curve provides crucial insight into the functional state of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.