title: Endogenous sex hormones and cognitive function in older women.
abstract: We examined the association between endogenous sex hormones and both objective and subjective measures of cognitive function.
  
  
  
  We followed 3044 women up to 23 years in a prospective cohort study. We measured plasma levels of estrone, estrone sulfate, estradiol, androstenedione, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in 1989-1990, conducted neuropsychologic testing in 1999-2008, and inquired about subjective cognition in 2012.
  
  
  
  Overall, we observed little relation between plasma levels of hormones and either neuropsychologic test performance or subjective cognition. However, after adjustment for age and education, we observed a borderline significant association of higher levels of plasma estrone with higher scores for both overall cognition (P trend = .10) and verbal memory (P trend = .08).
  
  
  
  There were no clear associations of endogenous hormone levels at midlife and cognition in later life, although a suggested finding of higher levels of plasma estrone associated with better cognitive function merits further research.
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: akoyama@post.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Alain K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Shelley S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tworoger
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: A Heather
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Eliassen
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Olivia I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Okereke
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Marc G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Weisskopf
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grodstein
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cognition; Dementia; Hormones; Subjective cognitive complaints