Safety · Supplement
DHEA: side effects, safety & interactions
Hormonal side effects (acne, hair changes, and hormone-sensitive-cancer concerns); it is not a benign supplement. Banned
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 0
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
The evidence in words
Safety profile
Hormonal side effects (acne, hair changes, and hormone-sensitive-cancer concerns); it is not a benign supplement. Banned by anti-doping agencies.
Interactions to respect
No major interactions are on record for DHEA at typical doses, but tell your clinician about everything you take.
What DHEA 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.
The honest 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.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- DHEAAn actual hormone precursor — meaningful only where DHEA is genuinely low (aging, adrenal insufficiency), and a banned substance in sport.Evidence grade C
- 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
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.