Relationships of sex hormone levels to dependence in activities of daily living in the frail elderly

Objectives: We undertook this nursing home study in order to determine the relationships between dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) and blood levels of estrone, testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Little is known about this issue. Methods: cross-sectional study of 370 nursing home residents. Hormone levels in blood specimens drawn in 1997 and 1998 were correlated with degree of ADL dependency recorded in medical charts. Results: Because of multiple comparisons associations were deemed significant for P-values ≤ 0.017 for males and ≤ 0.0125 for females. In males, the following were inversely related: testosterone levels with dependency in transferring and eating; estrone with eating and a summary ADL index; and androstenedione with toileting and a summary ADL index (in all cases, r = - 0.4; P = 0.007-0.015). Inverse trends existed between testosterone levels and dependency in mobility and a summary ADL index; and androstenedione and eating (in all cases r = - 0.3; P = 0.030-0.055). Among females the following were directly related: estrone levels with dependence in mobility, toileting, transferring, and a summary ADL index; and DHEA with transferring and a summary ADL index (r = 0.2-0.3, P = 0.0001-0.01). Trends existed between estrone and eating, and DHEA and toileting (r = 0.1-0.2, P = 0.04). Conclusion: In male residents, higher sex hormone levels are associated with better ADL performance. Among females the opposite is true. While further studies are needed to elucidate these relationships, our results and recent findings of others suggest sex hormone actions in older women differ from those in younger populations. A possible stress-related mechanism is also presented.