Association of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate with serum HDL-cholesterol concentrations in post-menopausal Japanese women

Objectives: Positive association between serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfa te (DHEAS) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol has been observed in men but not women. We aimed to examine the cross-sectional relationship s of DHEAS, estradiol (E-2), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) to ser um lipid concentrations in post-menopausal Japanese women. Methods: A total of 56 post-menopausal Japanese women were derived from female residents in Takayama City in Japan. The information on body size, disease history, rep roductive history, diet, and physical activity were obtained by a self-admi nistered questionnaire. Results: DHEAS was significantly and positively cor related with HDL-cholesterol after controlling for age and body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.28). There was no correlation between DHEAS and total-choleste rol (r = -0.02). E-2 was not significantly correlated with total- and HDL-c holesterol and triglyceride. However, SHBG-unbound E-2 was significantly po sitively correlated with HDL-cholesterol (r = 0.34) and negatively correlat ed with triglyceride (r = -0.27) after controlling for age and BMI. SHBG wa s negatively correlated with triglyceride, although the correlation was not statistically significant (r = -0.22). Conclusion: These data suggest favo rable effect of DHEAS as well as E-2 and SHBG on lipid profile in Japanese post-menopausal women. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights re served.