Association of dietary and life-style factors with sex hormones in postmenopausal women.

We examined the relations between endogenous sex hormones and alcohol intake, dietary constituents, and life-style factors in a population-based sample of 253 postmenopausal women not using replacement hormones. Estrone, dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and free and total testosterone were measured in serum. Age and years since menopause were negatively associated with dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate and positively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin levels. Higher relative weight was strongly and negatively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin. Other factors were only very weakly associated with sex hormones. Since, except for weight, few potentially modifiable factors appear to influence these hormone profiles, it may be that behaviors earlier in life mediate hormone levels and subsequent disease risk.