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Long-term study links DHEA to longevity in men The amount of DHEA-Sulphate that a man has in his blood is a "strong predictor" of how long he will live, a new report from a 27-year study conducted in Japan suggests. The adrenal glands secrete DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, a "pre-hormone," which the body converts into androgens and estrogens, Dr. Mika Enomoto and colleagues from Kurume University School of Medicine and colleagues explain. Levels of DHEAS peak during a person's 20s and 30s and then sharply decline. Animal research has found the hormone has a number of anti-aging effects, they add, and some studies in humans have linked DHEA levels to longevity, while others have not. To better understand the relationship between DHEA levels in humans and life span, the researchers measured DHEA levels in 940 men and women who ranged in age from 21 to 88 in 1978, and followed them until 2005. Men had higher levels of DHEAS at the study's outset, and both sexes showed a decline in levels of the hormone over time. In women, there was no relationship between their levels of DHEAS and how long they lived. But for men, low levels of DHEA-Sulphate, older age, higher blood pressure, and higher blood sugar levels after fasting showed a significant association with shorter lifespan. Among these variables, the researchers found that high levels of DHEA were the most strongly linked to a longer life. The relationship between DHEA and longevity remained even after the researchers adjusted for glucose levels, age, and blood pressure. But before the 15-year follow-up point, there was no difference in longevity among men based on DHEA levels, the researchers note, which may help explain why some past research found no relationship between the hormone and longevity. Limitations of the study include the fact that information on cause of death wasn't available for every participant, so it wasn't possible to determine if low DHEA levels correlated with death from heart disease or other causes, the researchers say. Nevertheless, they conclude the "these data suggest that serum level of DHEA-Sulphate is a strong predictor of 27-year longevity in men." SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, June 2008 Dr. Cinque's comments: I take 25 mgs of DHEA every day, and I have been doing so for many years. I don't include it on the Daily Program page because it is a hormone and because it is not approrpiate for everybody. Women, for instance, can take DHEA, but they generally take less than men to avoid making too much testosterone. The most popular dosage for women is 10 mgs, which we offer, and the most popular dosage for men is 50 mgs, which we also offer, and which I took for a while. But in my case, it made my DHEA level too high, and so, I cut back to 25 mgs. The report above is very significant, especially since higher DHEA levels had more of an impact on longevity than blood sugar levels and blood pressure, both of which are considered major influences. The medical establishment has been fearmongering about DHEA ever since it became legal in 1984. And they often point to theoretical risks, (mere speculations), such as the possibility that DHEA, by boosting testosterone, may incite prostate cancer. However, we now know that the link between testosterone and prostate cancer has been disproven, and no statistical analysis or data mining has ever linked DHEA with prostate cancer. But here's the bottom line to me when it comes to risk: the biggest risk factor of all is aging itself. In fact, aging is such a big risk factor for disease and degeneration that we know for sure that we are going to succumb to it in the end, that is, if we don't die of an accident or trauma or infection, then some age-related disorder is surely going to finish us off. Therefore, we cannot avoid risk just by avoiding health supplements, such as DHEA. There is plenty of risk whether we take it or not. Risk is part and parcel of being alive and getting older. So the real question is: what effect does DHEA have on the total aggregate risk that we most definitely face? And I think that a fair appraisal of the evidence suggests that the judicious use of DHEA lowers the total risk for age-related disease, decline, and degeneration. E-mail to a friend Next Article |
