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Cortisol, DHEA, sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam experience study

Cortisol, DHEA, sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam experience study
Cortisol, DHEA, sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam experience study
Objectives: The aim of the present analyses was to examine the association between cortisol, DHEA sulphate (DHEAS) and the cortisol:DHEAS ratio and mortality.

Design: This was a prospective cohort analysis.

Methods: Participants were 4255 Vietnam-era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic and health data were collected. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. Mortality was tracked over the subsequent 15 years. The outcomes were all-cause, cardiovascular disease, cancer, other medical mortality and external causes of death. Cox proportional hazard models were tested, initially with adjustment for age, and then with adjustment for a range of candidate confounders.

Results: In general, cortisol concentrations did not show an association with all-cause or cause-specific mortality. However, in age-adjusted and fully adjusted analyses, DHEAS was negatively related to all-cause, all cancers and other medical mortality; high DHEAS concentrations were protective. The cortisol:DHEAS ratio was also associated with these outcomes in both age-adjusted and fully adjusted models; the higher the ratio, the greater the risk of death.

Conclusions: DHEAS was negatively associated, and the ratio of cortisol to DHEAS was positively associated with all-cause, cancer and other medical cause mortality. Further experimental study is needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these relationships.
0804-4643
285-292
Phillips, Anna C.
d007c34d-e3b8-4a33-9608-841383e54e47
Carroll, Douglas
713a28c3-4e36-4dd8-aabe-1b5e93de8045
Gale, Catherine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Lord, Janet M.
29f3ed31-5762-4b3f-aca5-3d1049d26830
Arlt, Wiebke
fcf7aa71-468a-4097-b2cc-a04b283e53c7
Batty, G. David
605ce199-493d-4238-b9c8-a2c076672e83
Phillips, Anna C.
d007c34d-e3b8-4a33-9608-841383e54e47
Carroll, Douglas
713a28c3-4e36-4dd8-aabe-1b5e93de8045
Gale, Catherine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Lord, Janet M.
29f3ed31-5762-4b3f-aca5-3d1049d26830
Arlt, Wiebke
fcf7aa71-468a-4097-b2cc-a04b283e53c7
Batty, G. David
605ce199-493d-4238-b9c8-a2c076672e83

Phillips, Anna C., Carroll, Douglas, Gale, Catherine R., Lord, Janet M., Arlt, Wiebke and Batty, G. David (2010) Cortisol, DHEA, sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam experience study. European journal of endocrinology, 163 (2), 285-292. (doi:10.1530/EJE-10-0299). (PMID:20498139)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the present analyses was to examine the association between cortisol, DHEA sulphate (DHEAS) and the cortisol:DHEAS ratio and mortality.

Design: This was a prospective cohort analysis.

Methods: Participants were 4255 Vietnam-era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic and health data were collected. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. Mortality was tracked over the subsequent 15 years. The outcomes were all-cause, cardiovascular disease, cancer, other medical mortality and external causes of death. Cox proportional hazard models were tested, initially with adjustment for age, and then with adjustment for a range of candidate confounders.

Results: In general, cortisol concentrations did not show an association with all-cause or cause-specific mortality. However, in age-adjusted and fully adjusted analyses, DHEAS was negatively related to all-cause, all cancers and other medical mortality; high DHEAS concentrations were protective. The cortisol:DHEAS ratio was also associated with these outcomes in both age-adjusted and fully adjusted models; the higher the ratio, the greater the risk of death.

Conclusions: DHEAS was negatively associated, and the ratio of cortisol to DHEAS was positively associated with all-cause, cancer and other medical cause mortality. Further experimental study is needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in these relationships.

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Published date: August 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 164973
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/164973
ISSN: 0804-4643
PURE UUID: 468b2ea2-4b00-43da-9587-0ee92bdbdf95
ORCID for Catherine R. Gale: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3361-8638

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Date deposited: 07 Oct 2010 08:56
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:38

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Contributors

Author: Anna C. Phillips
Author: Douglas Carroll
Author: Janet M. Lord
Author: Wiebke Arlt
Author: G. David Batty

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