Declining Adrenal Androgens: An Association with Bone Loss in Aging Women

Bone loss in aging women is a major contributing factor to the onset of osteoporosis. To determine whether a decline in adrenal androgen output might be important in the loss of bone with age, we studied a highly selected group of 14 women, average age 70, and measured adrenal androgens in relationship to trabecular bone density. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels were used as a marker of adrenal sex steroid output while quantitative, computerized tomography was used to determine trabecular bone density. Our results showed that both bone density (r = −0.69, P < 0.01) and DHEAS levels (r = −0.68, P < 0.01) declined with age, and that DHEAS was positively correlated with bone density (r = 0.66, P = 0.01). These data emphasize the association of declining adrenal sex steroid production with declining bone density during the process of aging.