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Dha5.5
DHEA Research
Probably helps
226 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Probably helps
DHEA helped in about half (4/8) of the studies that measured an effect — promising, but not unanimous.
Most evidence is from high-quality meta-analyses and randomised trials published 1992–2026 with a typical study size of 1,188 participants.
Based on 226 studies · 37 meta-analyses · 170 RCTs · 21,770 total participants
Confidence
High confidence
What the studies found
4helped2unclear2didn't help· 218 more without graded effect data
By outcome
Women's healthMay help manage menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and mood changes · 4-8 weeks · Supports healthy estrogen metabolism and hormonal equilibrium · 4-8 weeks
Limited support48 studies
Therapeutic & clinical
Mostly mechanism / observational40 studies
Fertility & reproductiveMay support reproductive health and fertility markers · 4-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational23 studies
Men's vitalityDirect precursor to testosterone and estrogen synthesis · 4-8 weeks
Mixed evidence22 studies
Bone healthSupports bone mineral density and skeletal strength · 8-12 weeks
Mostly mechanism / observational15 studies
Lean body mass & muscle growthModest anabolic effects via androgen precursor activity · 8-12 weeks
Patients with diminished ovarian reserve/poor ovarian response1
Poor responders undergoing IVF1
Steady research
26 studies in the last 5 years · Latest meta-analysis: 2025
199220092026
1Meta-Analysisn=1,433 · large study2024
Future studies should include data collection on adverse events and multiple pregnancy.
Naik S, Lepine S, Nagels HE, Siristatidis CS, Kroon B, McDowell S. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (2024)
Pre-treatment with DHEA versus placebo/no treatment: DHEA likely results in little to no difference in live birth/ongoing pregnancy rates (OR 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95 to 1.76; I² = 16%, 9 RCTs, N = 1433, moderate certainty evidence).
This suggests that in women with a 12% chance of live birth/ongoing pregnancy with placebo or no treatment, the live birth/ongoing pregnancy rate in women using DHEA will be between 12% and 20%.
DHEA likely does not decrease miscarriage rates (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.37; I² = 0%, 10 RCTs, N =1601, moderate certainty evidence).
2Clinical pregnancy rateMeta-AnalysisCited 11×n=2,323 · very large study2023
Compared with COS regimen, the adjuvant use of CoQ10, DHEA and GH before IVF may have a better clinical effect on the pregnancy outcome of POR patients.
Zhu F et al. · Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E (2023)
Huge harm
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Compared with the control group, CoQ10 (OR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.05 to 4.71) and DHEA (OR 1.92, 95% CI: 1.16 to 3.16) had obvious advantages in improving the clinical pregnancy rate.
CoQ10 was the best in improving the live birth rate (OR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.07 to 5.38).
DHEA increased the embryo implantation rate (OR 2.80, 95%CI: 1.41 to 5.57) and the high-quality embryo rate (OR 2.01, 95% CI: 1.07 to 3.78) and number of oocytes retrieved (WMD 1.63, 95% CI: 0.34 to 2.92) showed a greater advantage, with GH in second place.
6DHEA-S levelsMeta-AnalysisCited 51×n=1,742 · large study2018
Effect size (ES) estimates were calculated as Hedges' g.
Misiak B et al. · Psychoneuroendocrinology (2018)
Large benefit
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Likely real
Effect size (ES) estimates were calculated as Hedges' g.
Main analysis revealed elevated DHEA-S levels in the whole group of patients (ES = 0.75, 95%CI: 0.23-1.28, p = 0.005).
In subgroup analyses, patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) had significantly higher levels of free testosterone (ES = 1.21, 95%CI: 0.30-2.12, p = 0.009) and DHEA-S (ES = 1.19, 95%CI: 0.66-1.71, p < 0.001).
7Sexual symptomsMeta-AnalysisCited 70×n=1,188 · large study2014
Evidence warranting low confidence suggests that DHEA administration does not significantly impact sexual symptoms or selected metabolic markers in postmenopausal women with normal adrenal function.
Elraiyah T et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism (2014)
No clear effect
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Borderline
DHEA use was not associated with significant improvement in libido or sexual function (standardized mean difference, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, -0.02 to 0.73; P value = .06; I(2) = 62%).
Evidence warranting low confidence suggests that DHEA administration does not significantly impact sexual symptoms or selected metabolic markers in postmenopausal women with normal adrenal function.
8Live birth rateMeta-AnalysisCited 30×n=368 · medium study2025
Specific interventions such as testosterone seem to correlate with a better live birth rate in women with DOR; these findings should be further explored in randomized trials.
Conforti A et al. · Fertility and sterility (2025)
Huge harm
← WorseNo effectBetter →
Testosterone supplementation is associated with higher live birth rates compared with nonsupplemented women among all interventions evaluated (odds ratio: 2.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-4.32, four studies, 368 patients).
Lower number of oocytes retrieved is achieved in women undergoing low dose gonadotropin regimen vs high dose (WMD: -1.57, 95% CI: -2.12 to -1.17; 2 studies, n = 905 patients), The other interventions did not produce significant improvements.
Specific interventions such as testosterone seem to correlate with a better live birth rate in women with DOR; these findings should be further explored in randomized trials.