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Diagnosis of Addison's disease

The diagnosis is made on the severity of the symptoms and by measuring the levels of cortisol and aldosterone in the blood.

A common test to determine this is an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) injection. ACTH controls the amount of corticosteroids that are released from the adrenal glands into the blood. An ACTH injection would normally cause a sharp rise in the production of cortical hormones. In people with Addison’s disease there will be a very minor reaction, or no reaction at all.

Blood tests can also show low levels of sodium and sugar (hypoglycaemia) in the blood and high levels of potassium, which are indicative of Addison’s disease.

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