Hair-Based Assessment of Sex Steroid Hormones in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa

December 2022 in “ Metabolites ”

Victoria-Luise Batury, Friederike I. Tam, Inger Hellerhoff, Marie‐Louis Wronski, Katrin Borucki, Kerstin Weidner, Veit Roessner, Wei Gao, Stefan Ehrlich

sex steroid hormones anorexia nervosa hair-based assessments progesterone dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA

TLDR Hair analysis shows low progesterone in anorexia patients, unchanged by short-term weight gain.

This study examined sex steroid hormone levels in hair samples from 33 female patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 33 healthy controls. It found that AN patients had significantly lower hair progesterone levels compared to controls, while DHEA levels were similar between the groups. Despite partial weight restoration, progesterone levels did not increase significantly, indicating a slower hormonal recovery. The study supports hair analysis as a non-invasive method for assessing long-term hormone exposure in AN patients, with significant associations found between hair hormone levels and leptin concentrations. Limitations include the small sample size and potential effects of AN on hair growth.

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