New evidence for protective effects of DHEAS on health among men but not women

The adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate form (DHEAS) have been the focus of considerable publicity in recent years because of their demonstrated associations with a broad range of health outcomes. Yet, despite a large literature examining the health consequences of DHEA(S), few have been based on prospective surveys of population-representative samples. Thus, our knowledge about the causal effects of DHEA(S) on health in humans is limited and often inconclusive. In this analysis, we use a national longitudinal survey in Taiwan to explore the associations between DHEAS and changes over a 3-year period in functional limitations, cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and global self-rated health for men and women. Our estimates suggest that, for the older Taiwanese population, DHEAS is related to subsequent declines in mobility and increased depressive symptoms among men, but there are no significant associations between DHEAS and women?s mental and physical health. These findings differ from those in a previous cross-sectional analysis based on the Taiwan study and underscore the importance of using prospective rather than cross-sectional data to examine the effects of DHEAS on health. The evidence to date from this study and other investigations based on longitudinal data suggests that DHEAS is protective of some health outcomes for men, but not women, in both Western and non-Western populations and raises questions about what factors give rise to these sex differences.