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Intel Lab Diagnostics Dubai
Single Biomarker

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

Fertility Hormone (LH)

LH is a pituitary hormone that triggers ovulation in women and stimulates testosterone production in men. Abnormal levels help diagnose fertility issues, PCOS, and pituitary disorders.

BLOOD24 HOURSNO FASTING
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  • Free home collection
  • Physician-reviewed report

24 Hours

Turnaround

Blood

Sample

About This Test

What the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) test tells you

Luteinizing hormone, LH on a report, comes from the same part of the pituitary gland as FSH and works in partnership with it. Where FSH is largely about growing the follicle or supporting sperm production, LH is the trigger and the driver of hormone output. In women a sharp surge of LH in the middle of the cycle is what releases the mature egg, and afterwards LH sustains the corpus luteum, the temporary structure that produces progesterone. In men LH acts on the Leydig cells in the testes, instructing them to make testosterone, so a man's testosterone level cannot be interpreted properly without knowing what LH is doing.

Because LH is a signal rather than an end product, its value lies in the pattern it forms with FSH and with the sex hormone being driven. A raised LH alongside a low sex hormone generally indicates that the ovary or testis is not responding and the pituitary is compensating. A low LH with a low sex hormone shifts attention upstream, to the pituitary or the hypothalamus that governs it. In polycystic ovary syndrome the classic picture is an LH that is disproportionately high relative to FSH, although this pattern is common rather than universal and is never the sole basis for that diagnosis.

The mid-cycle surge is short-lived and dramatic, which is both what makes LH useful and what makes it easy to misread. A sample taken during the surge can look strikingly high in a woman whose cycle is entirely ordinary. This is why an LH drawn to investigate irregular or absent periods, suspected PCOS, or ovarian reserve is conventionally taken in the first few days of the cycle, where the reading is stable and comparable. Where cycles are irregular or have stopped, and after menopause, that convention no longer applies and your doctor will simply say when to come. Home ovulation kits work on the opposite principle: they are looking for the surge itself.

Sample type
Blood
Measured in
mIU/mL
Turnaround
24 Hours
Fasting
Not required
Best for
Adults planning a family
Why Get Tested?

Evaluating infertility, menstrual irregularities, suspected PCOS, delayed puberty, and monitoring ovulation in fertility treatment cycles.

  • Confirming ovulation is triggered

    The mid-cycle LH surge is what releases the egg, so tracking LH helps establish whether ovulation is happening and when.

  • Investigating irregular periods

    Measured early in the cycle alongside FSH, LH helps distinguish polycystic ovary syndrome from ovarian insufficiency and from a pituitary cause.

  • Explaining low testosterone in men

    LH shows whether low testosterone comes from the testes failing to respond or from the pituitary failing to send the instruction.

  • Guiding fertility treatment

    LH is monitored during stimulation cycles to time egg collection or insemination and to detect a surge occurring earlier than planned.

When This Test Is Ordered

Reasons your doctor may request the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) test

Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.

  • Periods & low testosterone

    • Periods that are irregular, infrequent or absent, particularly where PCOS is being considered.
    • Low testosterone, reduced libido or loss of body hair in a man.

  • Fertility & ovulation timing

    • Difficulty conceiving, as part of an early-cycle hormone panel with FSH and estradiol.
    • Timing of ovulation during a monitored fertility treatment cycle.

  • Puberty & pituitary disease

    • Puberty that is delayed, or signs of puberty appearing unusually early in a child.
    • Known or suspected pituitary disease, including follow-up after treatment.
Preparation
The short version
No prep needed.
  • Blood
  • Free home collection
  • No fasting
  • Results in 24 Hours
  1. 1
    Book any time

    No fasting window: pick any slot that suits you, online or on WhatsApp.

  2. 2
    We come to you

    A DHA-licensed nurse collects your sample at home or in the office: free home collection.

  3. 3
    Results in 24 Hours

    A physician-reviewed, easy-to-read report lands securely by WhatsApp and email.

Prep note
Physician reviewed

No fasting is needed, and the sample takes only a few minutes.

Timing is the critical part for anyone who still has periods: if the test is for irregular cycles, suspected PCOS, fertility or ovarian reserve, your doctor will usually ask for it in the first few days of the cycle, counted from the first day of bleeding, because a sample taken mid-cycle can catch the natural ovulation surge and read very high for entirely ordinary reasons. Always tell the team the date your last period began.

If the purpose is to detect ovulation, the timing will instead be set around the expected mid-cycle point. Where cycles are irregular or absent, or after menopause, these rules do not apply and your doctor will tell you when to attend; men may attend on any day, preferably in the morning.

Mention any contraceptive, fertility drug, testosterone or biotin supplement you are taking.

Understanding Your Results

LH, reported in mIU/mL, is a signal rather than an end product, so even a result in the Normal band is read beside FSH and the relevant sex hormone. If you are still having periods, the cycle day is essential: the brief mid-cycle surge can land a sample in the High band in an entirely ordinary cycle. A High result away from that surge suggests the ovary or testis is not responding and the pituitary is pushing harder: the pattern of menopause, primary ovarian insufficiency or testicular failure. In polycystic ovary syndrome LH is often high relative to FSH, which supports the picture without settling it. A Low result with a low sex hormone shifts attention upstream to the pituitary or hypothalamus, and is seen with very low body weight, heavy training, stress, raised prolactin, contraception or testosterone therapy. Your doctor interprets it with your cycle dates, symptoms and history.

SmartReport
1.68.6
Healthy zone5mIU/mLNormal
Reference ranges · mIU/mL
Low
Low: interpret with sex and cycle phase.
0–1.6
Normal
Within a typical range (cycle-dependent).
1.7–8.6
High
Elevated: interpret with clinical context.
8.7–100

Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.

Reading a High or Low Result

  • What a higher result can point to

    • The normal mid-cycle surge, which is brief, expected and not a disorder: the reason cycle day must always be recorded.
    • Menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency, where the pituitary pushes harder because the ovary no longer answers.
    • Primary testicular failure in men, whether genetic, following infection, injury, or cancer treatment.
    • Polycystic ovary syndrome, which often shows an LH that is high relative to FSH, though not in everyone with the condition.
    • Removal of the ovaries or testes, which lifts the feedback that normally restrains LH.

  • What a lower result can point to

    • Pituitary damage from a tumour, surgery, radiotherapy or head injury.
    • Hypothalamic suppression from very low body weight, disordered eating, heavy training, severe stress or significant illness.
    • Raised prolactin, which interrupts the pulsed signal that LH release depends on.
    • Testosterone therapy, anabolic steroid use or combined hormonal contraception, all of which suppress the pituitary deliberately or as a side effect.
    • A congenital absence of the hypothalamic signal, which typically presents as puberty that does not begin.

These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.

Limitations & Safety

What this test cannot tell you

  • In a menstruating woman the result is uninterpretable without the cycle day, because a sample taken during the mid-cycle surge is naturally many times higher than one taken a few days either side.
  • LH is released in pulses through the day, so a single measurement captures one point on a fluctuating curve.
  • The LH pattern seen in polycystic ovary syndrome is supportive rather than diagnostic; the condition is diagnosed on symptoms, ultrasound and other hormones together.
  • Hormonal contraception suppresses LH, so results taken while using it say nothing about underlying ovarian function.

Risks of the blood draw

  • Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
  • Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
  • Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
Key Points
  • 1LH triggers ovulation in women and drives testosterone production in men.
  • 2Cycle timing is essential: for irregular periods, suspected PCOS or ovarian reserve, the sample is conventionally taken in the first few days of the cycle.
  • 3A single high LH may simply be the ordinary mid-cycle surge, which is why the date of your last period must be recorded.
  • 4If your cycles are irregular or have stopped, or you are past menopause, the usual timing rules do not apply and your doctor will advise.
  • 5LH is always read alongside FSH and the relevant sex hormone, never alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Not necessarily. LH surges sharply for a short window in the middle of a normal cycle, so a sample taken then reads high in a woman whose cycle is completely ordinary. This is why the day of your cycle is recorded with the result, and why the test is usually repeated at a defined point rather than acted on immediately.