The Relationship Between Serum Dehydroepiandrosterone Concentration and Memory Function in the Elderly

World population is rapidly aging, and the elderly are most at risk of cognitive impairment. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-Sulfate (DHEAS) have an essential effect on neuroprotection and might effectively improve cognition and memory.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the level of DHEA and memory function in the elderly.

The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study, and the study population included the elderly (age 60 years and older) living in Rasht City, the north of Iran, in 2020. The participants completed a demographic questionnaire and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), and their serum DHEA levels were measured by the hormonal automation method. The data were analyzed by SPSS v. 23, using t-test, the one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient.

The participants included 100 older people (57 females and 43 males) with a Mean±SD age of 67.38±5.39 years. There was no correlation between serum DHEA concentrations with a total score of the WMS (r=0.117, P=0.247). However, the correlation between the DHEA level and the scores of personal and current information and visual reproduction subscales were statistically significant (r=0.219, P=0.029; r=0.206, P=0.04).

The study indicates that the total memory score was not associated with the level of serum DHEA.