Printed in U.S.A. Relation of Sex Hormones and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-SOJ to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Postmenopausal Women

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 postmeno-pausal 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-S04) 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 corre-lated 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 < 0.01), 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 positivel