Compound or practice · Supplement
DHEA
An actual hormone precursor — meaningful only where DHEA is genuinely low (aging, adrenal insufficiency), and a banned substance in sport.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade B · 1 at grade D — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Deficiency (adrenal insufficiency)Evidence grade B
Under care
Moderatemixed
- Wellbeing (healthy young)Evidence grade D
Little benefit, real risk
Trivialhigh
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Wellbeing (healthy young) (grade D).
- Studies disagree: Deficiency (adrenal insufficiency) (mixed agreement).
The evidence in words
What it is
DHEA is an adrenal steroid hormone that declines with age and serves as a precursor to testosterone and estrogen. Unlike most 'supplements,' it is a hormone.
How it works
Supplementation raises DHEA and downstream sex-hormone levels, with effects that depend heavily on age, sex, and baseline status.
What the evidence shows
Evidence is best in genuine deficiency: adrenal insufficiency and some benefit for bone density, mood, and sexual function in older adults and certain fertility contexts (under specialist care). In healthy younger people it offers little and carries hormonal risks. It is prohibited in competitive sport.
How to use it
Only under medical supervision against measured low levels; self-dosing a hormone is ill-advised.
Safety & interactions
Hormonal side effects (acne, hair changes, and hormone-sensitive-cancer concerns); it is not a benign supplement. Banned by anti-doping agencies.
Bottom line
This is a hormone, not a vitamin. Useful in true deficiency under a clinician; not for healthy people, and off-limits for tested athletes.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Medical only
- Under supervision against low measured levels.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- DHEA for Deficiency (adrenal insufficiency)Evidence grade B — Under careEvidence grade B
- DHEA for Wellbeing (healthy young)Evidence grade D — Little benefit, real riskEvidence grade D
- DHEA: dosage and how to take itUnder supervision against low measured levels.Evidence grade C
- DHEA: side effects, safety & interactionsHormonal side effects (acne, hair changes, and hormone-sensitive-cancer concerns); it is not a benign supplement. BannedEvidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.