| Abstract |
Objective: Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAs), a prohormone secreted by the adrenal gland,
plays a role in the synthesis of sex hormones, namely, androgen and estrogen. It has been found
that the amount of DHEAs is correlated with age, although most studies have focused on the
correlation of serum DHEAs levels with age and sex. Thus, this noninvasive, cross-sectional study
aimed to investigate the correlation of urine DHEAs levels with age and sex in healthy Thai volunteers aged 20–80 years.
Methods: DHEAs levels were measured in 178 healthy volunteers using electrochemiluminescence
immunoassay and then normalized by creatinine. Multiple regression was performed to determine
the correlation of urine DHEAs levels normalized by creatinine with age and sex.
Results: The normalized DHEAs levels are correlated with age group for both sexes. Moreover, an
increasing trend in DHEAs levels was found in the age group 20–29 years, and the DHEAs level
peaked at the age group 30–39 years before declining with advancing age. Based on the multiple
regression analyses, the significance of the interaction term (P < 0.05) indicates that both age and
sex significantly contribute to the prediction of ln (DHEAs/Creatinine). Our fitted model implies
the following: as age increases by 1 year, DHEAs/Creatinine is expected to decrease by 3.63% in
females and by 2.18% in males.
Conclusion: This study reports more data on clinical reference value of urine DHEAs levels in
healthy volunteers. Our result demonstrates urine DHEAs levels are associated with age and sex
and decline by 2–3% a year. |
Publication
Journal Publication
ไทย