DUTCH vs. OAT: What Each Test Measures & How to Choose
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When you're exploring functional health testing, it can be difficult to know which test will provide the information you're actually looking for.
Two options you may come across are the DUTCH Complete™ Hormone Test and the Organic Acids Test (OAT). Both use urine samples and can provide insight beyond what is typically included in routine laboratory testing—but they examine very different aspects of health.
In simple terms:
DUTCH Complete takes a deeper look at hormones, hormone metabolism, and cortisol patterns.
OAT provides a broader look at metabolism and biochemical pathways throughout the body.
Neither test is inherently "better" than the other. The more useful question is: What are you trying to learn about your health?
Let's take a closer look at what each test measures and where the differences lie.
What Is the DUTCH Complete Test?
DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones.
Developed by Precision Analytical, DUTCH Complete is designed to provide a detailed assessment of hormonal health. The test evaluates sex hormones and their metabolites, along with cortisol and cortisone patterns and metabolites.
The current DUTCH Complete report includes analysis of 35 different hormones and hormone metabolites, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA-S, and cortisol-related markers. It also incorporates several additional markers related to nutritional status, oxidative stress, melatonin, neurotransmitter metabolism, and gut health.
What Does DUTCH Complete Measure?
DUTCH Complete provides information about areas including:
- Estrogens and estrogen metabolites
- Progesterone metabolites
- Testosterone and androgen metabolites
- DHEA-S
- Daily free cortisol and cortisone patterns
- Cortisol and cortisone metabolites
- Melatonin
- Oxidative stress
- Select nutrient-related organic acids
- Select neurotransmitter metabolites
- A gut-health-related marker
One of the distinguishing features of DUTCH testing is its ability to look beyond the amount of certain hormones present and provide information about how those hormones are being metabolized.
That can provide a practitioner with a more detailed picture of hormonal patterns than hormone levels alone. Precision Analytical's latest DUTCH report continues to emphasize these two components: hormone levels and hormone metabolism.
What Is an Organic Acids Test (OAT)?
The Organic Acids Test from Mosaic Diagnostics approaches functional testing from a different direction.
Organic acids are compounds produced during normal metabolic processes. They are created by human cells as well as microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi and are ultimately excreted in urine.
By measuring these metabolic byproducts, OAT provides a snapshot of activity occurring across numerous biochemical pathways.
Mosaic's current OAT measures 76 organic acids from a single urine sample and is designed to provide information about nutritional and metabolic processes.
What Does OAT Measure?
Mosaic's current report summarizes findings across six primary areas:
Microbial Overgrowth
Markers associated with metabolic byproducts from yeast, fungi and bacteria.
Mitochondrial Health
Markers associated with energy production and pathways involving glucose, fatty acids and amino acids.
Neurotransmitter Metabolites
Metabolites associated with pathways involving neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and epinephrine.
Methylation & Detoxification
Markers associated with methylation, glutathione status and related detoxification pathways.
Nutritional Needs
Direct and indirect biomarkers associated with functional demand for certain B vitamins, antioxidants and other micronutrients.
Toxic Exposure
Organic acids associated with environmental toxicants, mitochondrial stress, oxidative stress and glutathione depletion.
Rather than focusing deeply on one system such as hormones, OAT provides a broader metabolic snapshot.
DUTCH vs. OAT: What's the Main Difference?
The easiest way to understand the difference is to consider the primary focus of each test.
| If you primarily want to explore... | Test to Consider |
|---|---|
| Sex hormone levels and patterns | DUTCH |
| Estrogen metabolism | DUTCH |
| Progesterone and androgen metabolites | DUTCH |
| Cortisol and cortisone patterns | DUTCH |
| Hormone metabolism | DUTCH |
| Broader cellular metabolism | OAT |
| Mitochondrial and energy-production pathways | OAT |
| Nutrient-related metabolic patterns | OAT |
| Microbial metabolites | OAT |
| Neurotransmitter metabolites | OAT |
| Methylation and detoxification-related pathways | OAT |
| Oxidative stress and toxic-exposure-related patterns | OAT |
The takeaway: DUTCH is primarily a comprehensive hormone-focused test, while OAT is primarily a comprehensive metabolic test.
They aren't simply two versions of the same type of testing.
But Doesn't DUTCH Complete Include Organic Acids?
Yes—and this is an important distinction.
DUTCH Complete does include several organic-acid and related markers.
For example, Precision Analytical currently lists markers related to vitamins B6 and B12, glutathione, dopamine, norepinephrine/epinephrine, oxidative stress and melatonin among the additional measurements included with DUTCH Complete.
However, this should not be confused with a comprehensive Organic Acids Test.
Mosaic's OAT is specifically built around organic-acid analysis and evaluates 76 urinary organic acids spanning numerous metabolic pathways.
So while there is some overlap between the information provided by the two tests, their primary purposes remain quite different.
An easy way to remember the difference:
DUTCH = a deeper look at hormones and hormone metabolism
OAT = a broader look at metabolism and biochemical pathways
Who Might Consider DUTCH Complete?
DUTCH Complete may be worth discussing with a knowledgeable practitioner when your primary questions center around hormonal health, hormone metabolism, or cortisol patterns.
Rather than selecting testing based on one symptom alone, it can be helpful to consider the type of information you're hoping to obtain.
For someone wanting a more comprehensive picture of sex hormones and their metabolites—or greater insight into how cortisol and cortisone change throughout the day—DUTCH may provide information that more directly addresses those questions.
DUTCH Complete uses four dried urine collections throughout the day, allowing the report to show the daily pattern of free cortisol and cortisone in addition to hormone and hormone-metabolite measurements.
Who Might Consider an Organic Acids Test?
OAT may be worth exploring when your questions are broader and more metabolic or nutritional in nature.
Because the test examines dozens of metabolic byproducts, it can provide information about patterns involving:
- Cellular energy production
- Nutrient-related metabolic pathways
- Microbial metabolites
- Neurotransmitter metabolism
- Oxidative stress
- Methylation and detoxification
- Environmental toxicant-related patterns
Mosaic describes its OAT as a nutritional and metabolic snapshot, measuring downstream products from processes including microbial activity, energy production, detoxification, neurotransmitter synthesis and nutrient metabolism.
This broader scope is what distinguishes OAT from a hormone-centered test such as DUTCH.
Do DUTCH and OAT Overlap?
A little—but not enough to make them interchangeable.
Both can provide information related to certain nutritional, neurotransmitter and oxidative-stress pathways.
But DUTCH Complete devotes the majority of its assessment to sex hormones, adrenal hormones and hormone metabolism, while OAT devotes its assessment to a much broader collection of organic acids produced through metabolic pathways.
Think of the overlap as additional context rather than duplication.
Can Someone Benefit From Both DUTCH and OAT?
Potentially.
Because the tests investigate different aspects of physiology, their information can be complementary rather than redundant.
For example, DUTCH may provide detailed information about hormone metabolism and cortisol patterns, while OAT may add information about energy metabolism, nutrient-related pathways, oxidative stress and microbial metabolites.
However, more testing isn't automatically better.
Functional testing is most useful when there's a reason for ordering it and a plan for using the information. A qualified practitioner can help determine whether one test provides the information you need or whether looking at multiple areas would be useful.
DUTCH or OAT: Which Test Should I Choose?
Start with one simple question:
What am I most interested in learning?
If your primary questions revolve around sex hormones, estrogen metabolism, progesterone, androgens, or cortisol patterns, DUTCH Complete may be the more logical test to explore.
If you're interested in obtaining a broader metabolic picture involving energy production, nutrient-related pathways, microbial metabolites, neurotransmitter metabolism, oxidative stress, methylation and detoxification, OAT may provide more relevant information.
And if you're unsure, you don't necessarily need to make that decision alone.
A knowledgeable practitioner can consider your health history, goals, existing laboratory results and other relevant factors to help determine which testing may provide the most useful information.
Getting the Test Results Is Only the Beginning
Functional testing can provide an impressive amount of data—but a laboratory report is only useful if you understand what that information means in context.
Individual markers shouldn't necessarily be interpreted in isolation. Your health history, medications and supplements, diet, lifestyle, symptoms and other laboratory findings can all be important pieces of the picture.
At Evenbetternow, we offer both the DUTCH Complete Hormone Test and the Organic Acids Test (OAT), along with professional consultation options for clients who would like individualized help understanding their results and determining appropriate next steps.
Ready to explore your testing options?
- Book a free Discovery Call to talk through your options and get personalized guidance
- Explore the DUTCH Complete Hormone Test
- Explore the Organic Acids Test (OAT)
- View All Functional Testing
Not sure which test is right for you? Contact us and we'll be happy to help you explore your options.