PMID: 8943798Sep 1, 1996Paper

Dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate and cardiovascular disease

The Journal of Endocrinology
K Khaw

Abstract

High dehyroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) levels have been suggested to be protective for cardiovascular disease. DHEA supplementation is reported to lower low-density levels of cholesterol in humans and to reduce atherosclerotic plaques in rabbits. Several prospective studies have examined the relationship between DHEAS levels and cardiovascular disease but results have been conflicting. In men, estimated relative risks associated with one standard deviation increase in DHEAS levels range between 0.63 for coronary heart disease mortality in the Rancho Bernardo Study, 0.45 for fatal coronary heart disease but 1.11 for non-fatal coronary heart disease in the Honolulu Heart Study, 0.90 for myocardial infarction in the US Male Physicians study, and 1.34 in the Helsinki Heart Study. The only prospective study reporting data in women, the Rancho Bernardo Study, found DHEAS levels were not significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality. Variability in findings between studies may reflect the different endpoints used (DHEAS may influence mortality but not incidence), or may indicate a more complex relationship between DHEAS and other biological processes directly causally related to cardiovas...Continue Reading

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