Title: congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - congenital adrenal hyperplasia
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.10553
Status: current

Definition
Group of disorders caused by hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex or by malignant tumors, resulting in excess secretion of adrenocortical androgenic hormones, and characterized by masculinization of women, feminization of men, or precocious puberty in the male.

Note
The condition is associated with a decrease in the blood level of cortisol and an increase in the level of androgens in both sexes, most commonly as a result of 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

Related Terms
- 21-hydroxylase: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11260
- adrenal: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10344
- androgenic: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10385
- androgens: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10384
- feminization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10709
- hormones: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10810
- hyperplasia: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10826
- malignant: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10915
- masculinization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10918
- puberty: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11152
- tumors: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11330

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 739 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10553/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10553/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10553/xml

Citation: Citation: 'congenital adrenal hyperplasia' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.10553
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-08-01T10:22:44+00:00