Primary adrenal insufficiency

What it means

Insufficient production of steroid hormones (primarily cortisol) by the adrenal glands as a result of a primary defect in the glands themselves.

Deficiency of both glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this23

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 2 diseases where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Addison disease · Addison's disease · Adrenocortical insufficiency · Primary adrenocortical failure