The Relationship Between Longitudinal Declines in Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate Concentrations and Cognitive Performance in Older Men

Abstract

Background:The observation that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations decrease markedly with age has led to the hypothesis that declining DHEA concentrations may contribute to age-related changes in cognition. In the United States, DHEA is widely available as an over-the-counter supplement that individuals are using in an effort to ameliorate age-related cognitive and physical changes.

Prospective measurements of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in a cohort of elderly subjects: Relationship to gender, subjective health, smoking habits, and 10-year mortality

“…We found a global trend to decline of DHEAS level over the 7 years at 2.3% per year among men and 3.9% per year among women. This decline is consistent with those found by several (20,21,23,24) but not all authors (19). Despite this global decline, we found an increase of DHEAS level in approximately one-third of our subjects (Fig.…”

“…Indeed, the evolution of the DHEAS level was inversely correlated with the baseline DHEAS level, leading to a decrease of DHEAS level when the initial DHEAS concentration was high and to an increase when the initial DHEAS level was low. This relationship was probably because of a regression toward the mean and has been found in other longitudinal studies (19,20). We found no significant relationship between the evolution of DHEAS level and several health parameters, even those known to be cross-sectionally associated with this level (18).…”

“…But this fact is difficult to interpret because of the multiplicity of the tests and the low number of subjects. Furthermore, in others studies (19,20), there was no relation between longitudinal change of DHEAS sulfate and the cognitive status. The global negative results could be explained by a lack of validity in data collection or by confounders not taken into account in our analysis, but the main explanation is certainly selection by death, evoking a possible population heterogeneity.…”

“…In men, but not in women, lower DHEAS concentrations were significantly associated with an increased short-term mortality at 2 and 4 years after DHEAS measurement (18). Among these 622 subjects, 346 had a second measurement of DHEAS level 7 years after the first.Intraindividual changes of DHEAS level over adulthood are insufficiently documented in longitudinal studies (8,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). The knowledge of intraindividual evolution of DHEAS level would be of importance to determine the possible pathological role of DHEAS.…”

Hormonal regulation of longevity in mammals

“…These observations give rise to speculation that DHEA secretion in large amounts may be a unique adaptation contributing to the relative longevity of the human species, and that the agerelated decline in DHEA contributes to senescence. However, there has been difficulty in trying to correlate endogenous human DHEA levels with age-related changes in body composition or function (including immune function, insulin sensitivity and cognitive function), generally weak or non-significant relationships have been identified (Straub et al, 1998;Berr et al, 1996;Maccario et al, 1999;Abbasi et al, 1998;Abassi et al, 1998;Kostka et al, 2000;Haffner et al, 1994;Phillips, 1996;Kalmijn et al, 1998;Moffat et al, 2000). DHEA treatment of older men and women has not been convincingly demonstrated to have significant clinical benefits, with the exception of a study by Morales et al (1994) showing improvement in self-reported physical and psychological well-being in post-menopausal women.…”