{"id":"cortisol-saliva-late-night","name":"Cortisol, Late-Night Saliva","shortName":"Late-night salivary cortisol","aliases":["Late Night Salivary Cortisol","LNSC","Cortisol, Salivary, Late Night","Midnight Salivary Cortisol","Cortisol, Saliva, 11 PM","Cortisol, Bedtime (Saliva)","Nighttime Salivary Cortisol"],"abbreviations":["LNSC"],"loinc":[{"code":"2142-8","primary":true},{"code":"58642-0","primary":false},{"code":"51844-9","primary":false},{"code":"58643-8","primary":false}],"specimen":"saliva","units":[{"ucum":"ug/dL","display":"µg/dL"},{"ucum":"nmol/L","display":"nmol/L"},{"ucum":"ng/mL","display":"ng/mL"},{"ucum":"ng/dL","display":"ng/dL"}],"referenceRanges":[{"population":"Adults","low":null,"high":0.09,"unit":"ug/dL","unitDisplay":"µg/dL","note":"Upper limit for a sample taken late at night, as an LC-MS/MS result. Quest prints 0.09 µg/dL or lower for 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Labcorp prints below 0.010 to 0.090 µg/dL at midnight. Mayo, ARUP and Michigan Medicine print below 0.10 µg/dL (100 ng/dL) for 11 p.m. to midnight. The 2008 Endocrine Society guideline listed 145 ng/dL (4 nmol/L) as the level above which a result suggests Cushing syndrome, for the ELISA and LC-MS/MS assays then in use. A 2020 healthy-volunteer study found 0.17 to 0.97 µg/L (17 to 97 ng/dL) by LC-MS/MS, and immunoassays read about 52% higher than LC-MS/MS in that study. The 2021 consensus describes the cutoff as an assay-specific reference range and notes that cutoffs vary significantly between laboratories. Use the range on your own report.","sources":[{"title":"Cortisol, LC/MS, Saliva (test code 19897)","url":"https://testdirectory.questdiagnostics.com/test/test-detail/19897/?cc=MASTER","publisher":"Quest Diagnostics"},{"title":"Salivary Cortisol, LC/MS-MS (test 500179)","url":"https://specialtytesting.labcorp.com/tests/500179/salivary-cortisol-lc-ms-ms","publisher":"Labcorp (Endocrine Sciences)"},{"title":"SALCT: Cortisol, Saliva","url":"https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/overview/84225","publisher":"Mayo Clinic Laboratories"},{"title":"Cortisol by LC-MS/MS, Salivary (ARUP test 3016866)","url":"https://ltd.aruplab.com/Tests/Pub/3016866","publisher":"ARUP Laboratories"},{"title":"Cortisol, Saliva (SCOR)","url":"https://mlabs.umich.edu/tests/cortisol-saliva-scor","publisher":"Michigan Medicine Laboratories (MLabs)"},{"title":"The Diagnosis of Cushing's Syndrome: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2386281/","publisher":"Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism","year":2008},{"title":"Consensus on Diagnosis and Management of Cushing's Disease: A Guideline Update","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8743006/","publisher":"The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology","year":2021},{"title":"Reference ranges of late-night salivary cortisol and cortisone measured by LC-MS/MS and accuracy for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32772255/","publisher":"Journal of Endocrinological Investigation","year":2020}]}],"review":{"status":"ai-verified","label":"AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review","lastReviewed":"2026-10-03"},"summary":"Cortisol in a saliva sample taken near bedtime, when levels are normally at their lowest. It shows whether the daily cortisol rhythm dips as expected at night.","url":"https://bloodtesttracker.com/markers/cortisol-saliva-late-night","notice":"Information, not medical advice. Ranges differ between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against."}