Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels as an individual marker.
To assess the significance of the serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentration as a parameter of the individual hormonal milieu, two different groups of subjects were studied: DHEAS levels were determined 3 times at 6-month intervals in 47 elderly hospitalized women, aged 71-94 yr (group 1), and 6 times over 2 consecutive weeks in 10 healthy male volunteers, aged 24-30 yr (group 2). For reference, serum cortisol (F) levels were determined concomitantly. In each group and on each sampling occasion, the subjects were ranked according to their DHEAS or F values. The stability over time of the ranking was much higher for DHEAS than for F; estimated concordance coefficients were 92% (group 1) and 88% (group 2) for DHEAS vs. 51% (group 1) and 49% (group 2) for F. We conclude that due to a comparatively low within- to between-subject variability ratio, DHEAS is a highly specific individual marker.
Département de Biostatistique et Informatique Médicale, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris.
G
G
Thomas
N
N
Frenoy
S
S
Legrain
R
R
Sebag-Lanoe
E E
EE
Baulieu
B
B
Debuire
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
D015415:Biomarkers; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D006854:Hydrocortisone