TY - JOUR
T1 - DHEAS levels and mortality in disabled older women
T2 - The Women's Health and Aging Study I
AU - Cappola, Anne R.
AU - Xue, Qian Li
AU - Walston, Jeremy D.
AU - Leng, Sean X.
AU - Ferrucci, Luigi
AU - Guralnik, Jack
AU - Fried, Linda P.
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was supported by National Institute on Aging (NIA) grant K23 AG19161, an American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)/Pfizer Research Grant, NIA Contract N01-AG-1-2112, NIA grants R01-AG11703 and R37-AG19905, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center General Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs).
PY - 2006/9
Y1 - 2006/9
N2 - Background. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) is an endogenously produced sex steroid that has been hypothesized to have anti-aging effects. Low DHEAS levels are associated with mortality in older men, but the relationship between DHEAS levels and mortality in women is not clearly defined. Methods. The relationship between serum DHEAS level and 5-year mortality was analyzed in a cohort of 539 disabled women aged 65-100 years enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Study I (WHAS I). Using Cox proportional hazard models, we calculated multivariate-adjusted mortality risks by DHEAS quartiles and by DHEAS continuously, allowing for a nonlinear relationship. We also examined cause-specific mortality. Results. We found a U-shaped relationship between DHEAS level and mortality. After adjusting for multiple covariates, women in the top and bottom DHEAS quartiles had a more than 2-fold higher 5-year mortality than did those in the middle quartiles (hazard ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-3.98 for the top quartile and 2.05; 95% CI, 1.27-3.32 for the bottom quartile, each compared to the third quartile). Women with higher DHEAS levels tended to have greater cancer mortality, whereas those with lower DHEAS tended to have greater cardiovascular mortality. Conclusion. Disabled older women with either low or high levels of DHEAS are at greater risk for death than are those with intermediate levels. More research is needed to determine if targeted dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation would provide clinical benefit to disabled older women.
AB - Background. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) is an endogenously produced sex steroid that has been hypothesized to have anti-aging effects. Low DHEAS levels are associated with mortality in older men, but the relationship between DHEAS levels and mortality in women is not clearly defined. Methods. The relationship between serum DHEAS level and 5-year mortality was analyzed in a cohort of 539 disabled women aged 65-100 years enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Study I (WHAS I). Using Cox proportional hazard models, we calculated multivariate-adjusted mortality risks by DHEAS quartiles and by DHEAS continuously, allowing for a nonlinear relationship. We also examined cause-specific mortality. Results. We found a U-shaped relationship between DHEAS level and mortality. After adjusting for multiple covariates, women in the top and bottom DHEAS quartiles had a more than 2-fold higher 5-year mortality than did those in the middle quartiles (hazard ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-3.98 for the top quartile and 2.05; 95% CI, 1.27-3.32 for the bottom quartile, each compared to the third quartile). Women with higher DHEAS levels tended to have greater cancer mortality, whereas those with lower DHEAS tended to have greater cardiovascular mortality. Conclusion. Disabled older women with either low or high levels of DHEAS are at greater risk for death than are those with intermediate levels. More research is needed to determine if targeted dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation would provide clinical benefit to disabled older women.
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U2 - 10.1093/gerona/61.9.957
DO - 10.1093/gerona/61.9.957
M3 - Article
C2 - 16960027
AN - SCOPUS:33748799994
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 61
SP - 957
EP - 962
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 9
ER -