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Associations between dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and cognitive function in 5,061 older men and women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Elpers, A-L; Steptoe, A; (2020) Associations between dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and cognitive function in 5,061 older men and women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Psychoneuroendocrinology , 117 , Article 104702. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104702. Green open access

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Abstract

Despite extensive observational and intervention research, the association between concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and cognition at older ages remains unclear. This study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between plasma DHEAS and cognitive function in a large nationally-representative cohort of men and women aged 50 and older. Data were analysed from 5061 participants (mean age 65.1, standard deviation 8.61) who completed memory, verbal fluency and processing speed tests at baseline and two years later. Age, education, marital status, paid employment, depressive symptoms, mobility impairment, coronary heart disease and diabetes were included as covariates, and analyses were stratified by gender. We found positive associations at baseline between DHEAS concentration and aggregate cognition after adjustment for covariates in men (β = 0.049, standard error (s.e.) 0.020, p = 0.015). Longitudinally, DHEAS at baseline predicted cognition two years later in men (β = 0.052, s.e. 0.020, p = 0.010), but not after baseline cognition was taken into account (β = 0.022, s.e. 0.016, p = 0.17), indicating that DHEAS was not associated with rate of cognitive decline. Similar associations were recorded at 6 year follow-up. No significant relationships between DHEAS and cognition were observed among women. We conclude that greater DHEAS concentrations are associated with cognition level at older ages in men, but are unlikely to play a functional role in cognitive decline.

Type: Article
Title: Associations between dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and cognitive function in 5,061 older men and women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104702
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104702
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords: Ageing, Cognition, Gender differences, Hormones, Longitudinal studies
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10098125
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