Original article
Longitudinal changes in dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations in men and women

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-2143(98)90181-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Dehydroepiandrosterone, an adrenal steroid, has many purported roles in the body and has been used as an oral supplement in the treatment of various illnesses. Because little is known about normal changes over time in dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations, we studied the 5-year change in plasma dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations in 614 free-living adults. Two hundred seventy-three males and 341 females had dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations measured in 1989 and 1994. Demographic data were also obtained. Dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations differed significantly by sex and 5-year age group. The average decline in dehydroepiandrosterone was 5.6%/year, and the rate of decline was directly related to age but not to sex, measures of adiposity, or serum glucose. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations differed significantly by sex and age group. The average decline in the sulfated hormone was 2.0%/year and was not related to age, sex, measures of adiposity, or serum glucose. Knowledge of the natural course of age-related changes in dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations is essential to our understanding of the relationship of dehydroepiandrosterone to chronic diseases.

References (41)

  • G Van den Berghe et al.

    Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in critical illness: effect of dopamine

    Clin Endocrinol

    (1995)
  • JM Whitcomb et al.

    Dehydroepiandrosterone and 16α-Br-epiandrosterone inhibit 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate stimulation of superoxide radical production by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

    Carcinogenesis

    (1985)
  • MP Cleary

    The antiobesity effect of dehydroepiandrosterone in rats

  • AG Schwartz et al.

    1983 Dehydroepiandrosterone: An anti-obesity and anticarcinogenic agent

    Commun Res Breast Disease

    (1983)
  • GB Gordon et al.

    Relationship of serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer

    Cancer Research

    (1990)
  • E Barrett-Connor et al.

    A prospective study of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, mortality, and cardiovascular disease

    N Engl J Med

    (1986)
  • T Yanase et al.

    Serum dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S) in Alzheimer's disease and in cerebrovascular dementia

    Endocr J

    (1996)
  • F Leblhuber et al.

    Antiglucocorticoid effects of DHEA-S in Alzheimer's disease

    Am J Psychiatry

    (1992)
  • OM Wolkowitz et al.

    Antiglucocorticoid effects of DHEA-S in Alzheimer's disease

    Am J Psychiatry

    (1992)
  • JE Nestler et al.

    Dehydroepiandrosterone reduces serum low density lipoprotein levels and body fat but does not alter insulin sensitivity in normal men

    J Clin Endocrinol Metab

    (1988)
  • Cited by (75)

    • Gender differences in susceptibility to schizophrenia: Potential implication of neurosteroids

      2017, Psychoneuroendocrinology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Neurosteroids either come naturally from steroid-producing endocrine glands or are synthesized from precursors of sterol in the central nervous system (CNS) de novo (Baulieu and Robel, 1998). The most abundant neurosteroids secreted by the adrenal cortex in humans are dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester DHEA-S (Nafziger et al., 1998), which behave as the precursors of the sex hormones androgen and estrogen (Ritsner et al., 2005). The peripheral levels of DHEA/DHEA-S rise during puberty and achieve peak values between the early twenties and thirties (Kushnir et al., 2010) and then decrease over time to 10% to 20% of said peak values between 80 and 90 years old (Baulieu, 1996).

    • Pharmacology and immune modulating properties of 5-androstene-3β, 7β,17β-triol, a DHEA metabolite in the human metabolome

      2011, Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      DHEA together with its sulfate conjugate are among the most abundant steroids found in human circulation [1]. In humans age-related declines in plasma DHEA coincide with a heightened pro-inflammatory status [2,3]. DHEA has activity in certain in vitro systems [4], and is remarkably effective as a chemoprotectant and anti-inflammatory agent in rodent models [4–9].

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text