JCEM: A causal relationship between endogenous dehydroepiandrosterone and lumbar spine bone mineral density and forearm fractures in women

Background: Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disease that results in decreased bone mineral density and bone mass and increased fracture risk
.

One in two older women will suffer an osteoporotic fracture at some point

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that leads to decreased bone density and mass, increasing the risk of fractures

The adrenal derived hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester (DHEAS) are the most abundant circulating steroid hormones

Objective: To determine whether circulating DHEAS is causally associated with lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS-BMD) and fracture risk in women
.

Methods: A two-sample Mendelian randomized study using genetic predictors of serum DHEAs using the largest available female-specific genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis (n=8565)
.

Gene associations with DXA-derived bone mineral density (n=22900) were obtained from summary statistics of women-specific GWAS provided by the GEFOS consortium, while individual-level data from 238,565 women of white ancestry from the UK Biobank were used to assess fractures (11,564 forearm fractures).

Results: 1 standard deviation (SD) logarithmic increase in serum DHEAS levels was associated with a 0.
21 SD increase in LS BMD (P value: 0.
01) and a 0.
08 SD increase in eBMD (P value: <0.
001)
.

Genetically predicted DHEAS reduced the risk of forearm fractures (odds ratio (OR): 0.

Figure 1 Estimation of the causal effect of DHEAS on lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS-BMD) and femoral neck bone mineral density (FN-BMD) in women
.

Figure 1 Estimation of the causal effect of DHEAS on lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS-BMD) and femoral neck bone mineral density (FN-BMD) in women
.

Figure 2 Causal effect of DHEAS on estimated BMD (eBMD) of female heel ultrasound
.

Figure 2 Causal effect of DHEAS on estimated BMD (eBMD) of female heel ultrasound
.

Figure 3 Estimation of the causal effect of DHEAS on fracture risk in women
.

Figure 3 Estimation of the causal effect of DHEAS on fracture risk in women
.

CONCLUSIONS: Genetically predicted serum DHEAS increases LS-BMD in women and reduces the risk of forearm fractures
.

Based on the current findings and previous randomized controlled trials of DHEA treatment, we believe that both endogenous adrenal-derived DHEA (S) and DHEA medical treatment can improve bone health in women

Genetically predicted serum DHEAS increases female LS-BMD and reduces forearm fracture risk

Endogenous DHEAS is Causally Linked with Lumbar Spine Bone Mineral Density and Forearm Fractures in WomenLeave a Comment here