title: Relation of sex hormones and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-SO4) to cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women.
abstract: Sex hormones play a major role in determining the risk of cardiovascular disease. While several studies have shown that reduced sex hormone-binding globulin is associated with an atherogenic pattern of lipoproteins and increased glucose concentrations in premenopausal women, little data are available examining the association of sex hormone-binding globulin and sex hormones with cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women, a group with high rates of cardiovascular disease. The investigators hypothesized that in postmenopausal women decreased sex hormone-binding globulin and increased testosterone would be associated with an atherogenic pattern of cardiovascular risk factors. The sex hormone-binding globulin, total and free testosterone, estrone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-SO4) in 253 postmenopausal women who were not taking hormones were measured in a population-based study, the Beaver Dam Eye Study (Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 1988-1990). Sex hormone-binding globulin was significantly inversely correlated with body mass index (r = -0.53, p 0.001), glycosylated hemoglobin (r = -0.34, p < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (r = -0.25, p < 0.001), and positively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) (r = 0.31, p < 0.001), and HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). Total (r = -0.20, p < 0.01) and free (r = -0.14, p < 0.05) testosterone were significantly inversely correlated with HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio. Total testosterone concentrations were also significantly positively correlated with total cholesterol (r = 0.15), body mass index (r = 0.16), and systolic (r = 0.17) and diastolic (r = 0.18) blood pressures (all p < 0.01). DHEA-SO4 was not associated with any of the metabolic variables, while estrone was inversely associated only with the HDL cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio (r = 0.13, p < 0.05). The authors conclude that increased androgenization in postmenopausal women is associated with atherogenic changes in cardiovascular risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Haffner
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Newcomb
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017698:Postmenopause; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone