Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41301729›Full record

ArticleBiomedicines2025

Can Low Cortisol Predict Long COVID? A Controversial Issue.

Tom C Quach, Alina Wilson, Oliver Sum-Ping, Sara Lomba, Linda N Geng, Robert Shafer, Mitchell G Miglis, Phillip C Yang, Lauren Grossman, Giorgio Ricciardiello and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomedicines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Tom C QuachStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0009-0002-0038-9952
Alina WilsonStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Oliver Sum-PingDivision of Sleep Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Sara LombaDivision of Sleep Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-8324-9283
Linda N GengDepartment of Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9891-5705
Robert ShaferDivision of Infectious Diseases, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2513-2643
Mitchell G MiglisDepartment of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8488-0313
Phillip C YangDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Lauren GrossmanDepartment of Medicine, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Giorgio RicciardielloDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-7134-8751
Hector BonillaDivision of Infectious Diseases, Stanford Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cortisol dysregulation has been proposed as a biomarker of long COVID (LC), but findings remain inconsistent. Prior reports suggested low cortisol levels in LC, yet collection times and study designs varied substantially. To evaluate morning serum cortisol distributions in an independent LC cohort, accounting for circadian timing and sleep patterns, we performed a retrospective cross-sectional study of consecutive adults seen at the Stanford Long COVID Clinic between 14 February 2022 and 31 July 2024 (IRB #62996). Eligible participants had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptoms persisting ≥3 months per NASEM criteria, completion of the Alliance Sleep Questionnaire (ASQ), and a morning serum cortisol measured using the Roche Elecsys

Indexed as

circadian rhythmcortisolhypercortisolismhypocortisolismlong COVIDlong COVID biomarkerspost-acute COVID-19 syndrome

Identifiers

PMID41301729
PMCPMC12650455

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.