Altered diurnal pattern of steroid hormones in relation to various behaviors, external factors and pathologies: A review

•Alteration in diurnal cortisol pattern occurs in many behaviors and pathologies.•Impact of these factors on the other stress hormone patterns requires further work.•Link between altered rhythmicity and development of disease needs to be highlighted.•Attempts to correct altered steroid hormone patterns have been proposed recently.•In this prospect, regular physical activity appears very promising.

The adrenal and gonadal stress steroids [i.e., cortisol, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)] have gathered considerable attention in the last few decades due to their very broad physiological and psychological actions. Their diurnal patterns have become a particular focus following new data implicating altered diurnal hormone patterns in various endocrine, behavioral and cardiovascular risk profiles. In this review of the current literature, we present a brief overview of the altered diurnal patterns of these hormones that may occur in relation to chronic stress, nutritional behaviors, physical exercise, drugs and sleep deprivation/shift. We also present data on the altered diurnal hormone patterns implicated in cardiometabolic and psychiatric/neurologic diseases, cancer and other complex pathologies. We consider the occasionally discrepant results of the studies, and summarize the current knowledge in this new field of interest, underlining the potential effects on both biological and psychological functioning, and assess the implications of these effects. Last, we conclude with some practical considerations and perspectives.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (206KB)Download full-size image