Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) Test

Low ACTH levels may indicate that your pituitary gland isn’t making enough ACTH, which can lead to low cortisol levels. This may be caused by pituitary or adrenal problems, or from long‑term steroid medicine use, which can lower ACTH production.
 

ACTH testing is just one part of evaluating your hormone health, and results need to be interpreted by a healthcare provider along with your symptoms and other test results.

High ACTH levels may indicate that your body is working harder to make cortisol because your adrenal glands aren’t making enough, a condition called primary adrenal insufficiency (or Addison’s disease). However, high ACTH can also occur for other reasons.
 

ACTH testing is just one part of evaluating your hormone health, and results need to be interpreted together with your symptoms and other test results by a healthcare provider.

Several factors can influence your ACTH levels.
 

• Hormones — Birth control pills, hormone therapy, and pregnancy can affect cortisol and ACTH levels.
• Certain medications — Steroid medicines like prednisone can lower ACTH. Don’t stop taking these medications unless your provider instructs you to do so.
• Time of day — ACTH is highest in the morning, so morning testing gives the most consistent results.
• Stress or illness — Both can temporarily raise ACTH and cortisol.
• Exercise — Recent physical activity may briefly affect hormone levels, including ACTH.

Your testing will be performed in a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory. Labcorp provides leading-edge medical laboratory tests and services through a national network of primary clinical laboratories and specialty testing laboratories. Our labs perform regular quality assurance testing to ensure our results are accurate.

Your results will be provided to you through our secure online portal to view or print. Results are also made available through a secure portal to the independent healthcare provider who placed your test order.  If you are accessing your results through your Labcorp Patient™ account, all users linked to the account will have access to all OnDemand test results. Results may also be provided to a local, state, and/or federal health authority; for example, many states require the testing laboratory and physician to report test results for certain communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, to local or state health departments.  

If you have questions or comments regarding the Labcorp Notice of Privacy Practices, or have a complaint about our use or disclosure of your PHI or our privacy practices, please contact: privacyofficer@labcorp.com, call us at (877) 234-4722 (877-23-HIPAA) and ask for the Labcorp HIPAA Privacy Officer, or send a written request to: HIPAA Privacy Officer, Labcorp, 531 South Spring Street, Burlington, NC 27215. You also may file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Visit the Labcorp OnDemand® website to browse and purchase laboratory tests and create your Labcorp Patient™ account to view your results. All Labcorp OnDemand testing requires an order from an authorized healthcare professional. For your convenience, Labcorp OnDemand has contracted with independent professional entities (collectively, Providers) to deliver healthcare provider services. Visit a Labcorp location for sample collection; or, if using an at-home collection kit, collect your sample yourself. We’ll let you know when your results are ready and can be accessed through your Labcorp Patient™ account.

To align with clinical best practices, we’ve set an age maximum of 100 for consumer-initiated testing. This limit was set to encourage individuals in more advanced age groups - who may have complex medical needs - to receive personalized guidance about testing from their healthcare providers.