Blood Drug Testing

What is SHBG on a lab blood test? What do elevated SHBG levels mean?

i just got my first blood test done.. my doctor basically ticked all the boxes on the blood test form.. i had blood glucose, insulin, tryglycerides, cholesterol, liver enzymes, thryoid hormones, esterogen, testosterone, etc done.. everything was normal except for my SHBG.. the normal range for a female is 35 - 110.. mine was 168.. is that normal? i'm 18 yrs old.. im not on any medication

Public Comments

1. Sex hormone binding globulin. That is the carrier protein for the sex hormones as most are lipids (cholesterol) and not water soluble and so carrier proteins are needed for them to circulate in blood. It is needed in order to interpret hormone levels. Synthesis and secretion of SHBG is promoted by growth hormone, estrogen's and thyroid hormones. One usually sees higher levels in pregnancy or estrogen treatment and in hyperthyroidism or in liver cirrhosis. Lower levels are seen in PCOS, obesity, hypothyroidism and hirsutism. You don't mention your symptoms but probably trying to rule out PCOS?