Plasma lipids, dehydroepiandosterone sulphate and insulin concentrations in elderly overweight angina patients, and effect of weight loss

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of moderate weight loss in older overweight subjects with angina pectoris on plasma dehydroepiandosterone sulphate (DHEAS), urinary steroid metabolites, insulin and plasma lipid concentrations. DESIGN: Single stranded study of dietitian led dietary intervention for weight loss in a volunteer outpatient group of 41 subjects with angina (22 males, 19 females), BMI 29.1 s.d. 4.2 kg/m² aged 61.3 s.d. 6.5 y. MEASUREMENTS: Body weight and composition by anthropometry, REE by indirect calorimetry, dietary intake by seven day inventory, plasma DHEAS, insulin and lipids. RESULTS: After 12 weeks dietary supervision there were reductions in body weight (3.3 s.d. 2.3 kg, BMI 1.2 s.d. ², P=0.00001) and in reported energy intake (–1179 s.d. 1393 kJ daily, P=0.0001. No significant change was seen in plasma DHEAS or insulin but there were reductions in plasma cholesterol (–0.5 s.d. 0.6 mmol/l, P=0.0001) HDL cholesterol (–0.1 s.d. 0.1 mmol/l, P=0.0048) and triglyceride (–0.1 mmol/l s.d. 0.5, P=0.055). CONCLUSION: Weight loss of 4% body weight by conventional dietary means over 12 weeks does not alter plasma DHEAS, urinary steroid metabolites or insulin concentrations, but does reduce plasma cholesterol in older moderately overweight subjects with angina.