Sex hormones, sex hormone binding globulin, and abdominal aortic calcification in women and men in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA).
BACKGROUND
Conflicting findings exist regarding the associations of sex hormones with subclinical atherosclerosis.


METHODS
This is a substudy from MESA of 881 postmenopausal women and 978 men who had both abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) quantified by computed tomography and sex hormone levels assessed [Testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)]. We examined the association of sex hormones with presence and extent of AAC.


RESULTS
For women, SHBG was inversely associated with both AAC presence [OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.42-0.91 for 1 unit greater log(SHBG) level] and extent [0.29 lower log(AAC) for 1 unit greater log(SHBG) level, beta=-0.29 (95% CI -0.57 to -0.006)] adjusting for age, race, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, BMI, physical activity, and other sex hormones. After further adjustment for total and HDL-cholesterol, SHBG was not associated with ACC presence or extent. In men, there was no association between SHBG and AAC. In both men and women, neither T, E2, nor DHEA was associated with AAC presence or extent.


CONCLUSIONS
After adjustment for non-lipid cardiovascular risk factors, SHBG levels are inversely associated with both the presence and severity of AAC in women but not in men, which may be accounted for by HDL.
Michos
Erin D
ED
Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States. edonnell@jhmi.edu
Vaidya
Dhananjay
D
Gapstur
Susan M
SM
Schreiner
Pamela J
PJ
Golden
Sherita H
SH
Wong
Nathan D
ND
Criqui
Michael H
MH
Ouyang
Pamela
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000473:pathology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D004958:Estradiol