Objectives To evaluate the relationship between
serum hormone levels and high depressive symptoms and whether hormone levels or their change might explain the association of menopausal status with depressive symptoms previously reported in a national sample of midlife women.
Serum hormone tests typically include measurements only of total estradiol (E2), although total estrone (E1, the most potent and potentially oncogenic estrogen) may be available.
Bagga D, Ashley JM, Geffrey SP, Wang HJ, Barnard RJ, Korenman S, Heber D. Effects of a very low fat, high fiber diet
on serum hormones and menstrual function.
About 95 percent of the natural hormones found in the blood are inactivated
by serum hormone binding globulin (SHBG).
One study analysed the sleep quality and
serum hormone levels of 300 elderly people, and found big correlations between magnesium deficiencies and sleep deprivation.
If one wished to know the concentration of «free» bioavailable hormone in the blood, it is obvious that saliva hormone levels are more accurate and more relevant than
serum hormone levels.