E25.01: 21-Hydroxylase deficiency [type 3 AGS], late-onset

Your adrenal glands are not producing enough stress hormones and therefore too many male sex hormones.

The adrenal glands are at the top of the kidneys. The adrenal glands form the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol has many effects in the body. For example, cortisol is important for the sugar level in the blood and for blood pressure. The adrenal glands also form a hormone that controls the amount of blood salts. Blood salts help regulate the moisture content in the body. The adrenal glands also form sex hormones. Every person has female and male sex hormones in their body.

The hormones of the adrenal glands share common precursors. In your case, a protein is not working properly which creates the messenger substance cortisol from the precursors. As a result, you have too little of the messenger substance cortisol in your body. If the adrenal glands cannot produce any cortisol from the precursors, then you will develop male sex hormones from the precursors. You thus have too many male sex hormones in your body. This disorder is congenital in your case, which means you were born with it. But you did not have symptoms from birth. You first developed symptoms during or after puberty.

If you have too many male sex hormones in your body, you may have various symptoms. You will then have more masculine features. For example, you may be very hairy or have a deep voice.

The male sex hormones are also important for growth. As a child, you may be very tall. However, as an adult, you will be rather short, because you stop growing earlier as a result of the sex hormones.