Elevated Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate Levels as the Reproductive Phenotype in the Brothers of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
May 2002
in “
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
”
TLDR Brothers of women with PCOS tend to have higher levels of a hormone called DHEAS, indicating a possible genetic link.
The study conducted 21 years ago involved 119 brothers of 87 unrelated women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and 68 unrelated control men. The results showed that the brothers of women with PCOS had significantly higher levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) (3035 ± 1132 ng/ml) compared to control men (2494 ± 1172 ng/ml). There was also a significant positive linear relationship between DHEAS levels in PCOS probands and their brothers. However, the odds of balding did not differ in the brothers of PCOS women compared with control men. The study concluded that there is familial clustering of elevated DHEAS levels in the brothers of women with PCOS, suggesting a genetic trait.
