Association of Baseline Sex Hormone Levels with Baseline and Longitudinal Changes in Waist-to-Hip Ratio : Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVE: Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is strongly associated with prevalent atherosclerosis. We analyzed the associations of baseline serum levels of testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with WHR in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. SUBJECTS: Baseline data was available for 3144 men and 2038 postmenopausal women, who were non-users of hormone therapy, who were 45–84 years of age, and of White, Chinese, Black or Hispanic racial/ethnic groups. Of these, 2708 men and 1678 women also had longitudinal measurements of WHR measured at the second and/or the third study visits (median follow-up 578 days, and 1135 days, respectively). RESULTS: In cross-sectional analyses adjusted for age, race, and cardiovascular disease risk factors, T was negatively associated with baseline WHR in men, while in both sexes, E2 was positively associated and SHBG was negatively associated with WHR (all p<0.001). In longitudinal analyses, further adjusted for follow-up time and baseline WHR, baseline T was negatively associated with WHR at follow-up (p=0.001) in men, while in both sexes, E2 was positively associated (p=0.004), and SHBG was negatively associated with WHR (p<0.001). The longitudinal association of E2, but not T, was independent of SHBG. In both cross-sectional or longitudinal analyses, there were no associations between DHEA and WHR in either men or women. CONCLUSION: Sex hormones are associated with WHR at baseline and also during follow-up above and beyond their baseline association. Future research is needed to determine if manipulation of hormones is associated with changes in central obesity.