Association Between Urinary Albumin Excretion and Serum Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate Concentrations in Women With Type 2 Diabetes

Both elevated urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and low serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) have been linked with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in men (1–5). We have recently demonstrated that serum DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations correlated inversely with degree of UAE in men with type 2 diabetes (6). However, findings supporting a protective role of DHEA for CVD have been inconsistent in women (7–9). Furthermore, to our knowledge, the relationship between serum DHEA-S concentrations and degree of UAE, a marker of CVD, has never been explored in women with type 2 diabetes. We therefore investigated the relationship between serum DHEA-S concentrations and degree of UAE, as well as pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, in women with type 2 diabetes. Relationships of UAE to serum DHEA-S concentrations and to major cardiovascular risk factors were investigated in 254 consecutive women with type 2 diabetes who were recruited from the outpatient clinic at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. Most patients were postmenopausal women ( n = 244), and no patients received hormone replacement therapy. Mean values for BMI, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters obtained during the preceding year were used for statistical analysis. Patients enrolled in this study were almost stable for control of diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, …