DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE-SULFATE (DHEA-S) AND PSYCHIATRIC AND LABORATORY MEASURES OF FRAILTY IN A RESIDENTIAL CARE POPULATION

Previous reports have found low levels of dehydroepiandrosteron sulfat e (DHEA-S) in association with frailty in elderly patients. The mechan isms underlying these associations are not known. Therefore, psychiatr ic symptoms and disorders that are common in frail elderly patients we re correlated with DHEA-S levels in a convenience sample selected from a nursing home population. Low DHEA-S levels were associated with hig h degrees of self-rated disability and insomnia. In women, low DHEA-S levels were also associated with increased numbers of pain sites. Howe ver, cognitive impairment was associated with higher DHEA-S levels in women. Thus, in frail elderly patients, there are contradictory relati onships between DHEA-S and neuropsychiatric measures of frailty (cogni tive impairment, disability, insomnia, and number of pain sites), and ther may also be gender differences in these relationships.