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This version published online on December 11, 2007
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2007-2128
A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2008
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Submitted on September 9, 2007
Accepted on November 29, 2007

DHEA sulfate levels are associated with more favorable cognitive function in women

Susan R Davis*, Sonal M Shah, Dean P McKenzie, Jayashri Kulkarni, Sonia L Davison, and Robin J Bell

Women's Health Program, Department of Medicine, Monash Medical School, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Prahran Victoria, Australia; School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Prahran, Victoria, Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: susan.davis{at}med.monash.edu.au.

Context: It has been proposed that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) exert neuroprotective effects in the brain, yet evidence of associations between the endogenous levels of these steroids and measures of cognitive function are lacking.

Objective: To investigate whether circulating levels of DHEAS independently contribute to aspects of cognitive function in women in the community.

Design: A community based cross-sectional study.

Setting and Participants: 295 women, aged 21–77 years were recruited from a community based data set and participated between September 2003 and December 2004. Women were excluded if they reported any health condition that might potentially adversely affect cognitive function.

Main Outcome Measures: The individual scores of a comprehensive battery of tests of cognitive function and the serum level of DHEAS (square root transformed).

Results: In the multiple linear regression analysis the DHEAS term made a significant independent positive contribution to the Controlled Oral Word Association Test score, a measure of executive function. In addition, women with a DHEAS level in the highest tertile who also had more than 12 years of education performed better on both Digit Span Forward and Digit Span Backward tests which are tests of simple concentration and working memory respectively.

Conclusions: Higher endogenous DHEAS levels are independently and favorably associated with executive function, concentration and working memory.






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