STRESS HORMONE

STUDY ATTACHES HIGHER LEVELS OF STRESS HORMONE TO COVID-19 DEATHS-

COVID-19 patients with very high levels of a cortisol-a hormone associated with stress-in their blood are more likely to deteriorate quickly and die, researchers have reported in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Cortisol is produced by the body in response to stress, but excessive levels are associated with various conditions. The drug dexamethasone, which recent research has shown to reduce death rates in COVID patients, acts by imitating cortisol and reducing the production of cortisol. In healthy people, cortisol levels are 100-200nm/L when resting, and nearly zero when we sleep. The latest education was led by Imperial College London. The observational study covered 535 patients, including 403 COVID cases. Cortisol levels in COVID patients were significantly higher. Among COVID patients, those with baseline cortisol levels of 744 or less survived on average for 36 days. Victims with amounts over 744 had an average survival of 15 days. Over the study period, just under 27 percent of the COVID group died, compared to just under 7 percent of the non-COVID group.