Dehydroepiandrosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Main Authors: Xiongfeng Pan, Xinyin Wu, Atipatsa C. Kaminga, Shi Wu Wen, Aizhong Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-03-01
• Series: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
• Subjects: dehydroepiandrosterone; dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; Alzheimer's disease; meta-analysis; systematic review
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00061/full

Background and Purpose: Previous studies found inconsistent results for the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate previous studies' results on this relationship.Method: Studies related to this outcome were obtained using a systematic search from the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Psyc-ARTICLES in March 2018. The random-effects model was used to measure the strength of the association between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, using the standardized mean difference.Results: Thirty-one eligible studies were included in the final analysis. There was no statistically significant association between the level of dehydroepiandrosterone and Alzheimer's disease (standardized mean difference: 0.51, 95% confidence interval: −0.44 to 1.45, Z = 1.06, p = 0.29). On the other hand, lower level dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease than in controls (standardized mean difference: −0.69, 95% confidence interval: −1.17 to −0.22, Z = −2.84, p < 0.01).Conclusion: Decreased dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations may be an important indicator for Alzheimer's disease, although whether dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate could be used as a diagnostic tool requires further research.