How long dhea take effect

Effect of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation on bone mineral density, bone markers, and body composition in older adults: the DAWN trial. Osteoporos Int. The effects of dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA in the treatment of depression and depressive symptoms in other psychiatric and medical illnesses: A systematic review. Curr Drug Targets. Cleveland Clinic. Archer DF. Dehydroepiandrosterone intra vaginal administration for the management of postmenopausal vulvovaginal atrophy.

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. Age Dordr. Mount Sinai. Influence of cortisol and DHEA-S on pain and other symptoms in post menopausal women with fibromyalgia. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. Differential effect of oral dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate on metabolic syndrome features in pre- and postmenopausal obese women.

Clin Endocrinol Oxf. Panjari M, Davis SR. DHEA for postmenopausal women: a review of the evidence. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All.

Table of Contents. Possible Benefits. Possible Side Effects. See more conditions. Products and services. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references DHEA. Natural Medicines. Accessed Jan. Pizzorono JE, et al. Dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA. In: Textbook of Natural Medicine. Elsevier; IBM Micromedex. Kellerman RD, et al.

When you take this hormone as a supplement, its levels in your body increase. Some of it is also converted into testosterone and estrogen 1. Increased levels of these three hormones produce a variety of effects, which will be reviewed in this article. Low DHEA levels are associated with lower bone density, which decreases as you age 8 , 9. Because of these associations, several studies have examined whether DHEA can improve bone density in older adults.

Some research shows that taking this supplement for one to two years can improve bone density in older women, but not men 11 , Other studies have not observed any bone density benefits after supplementing with DHEA, but most of these studies lasted six or fewer months 13 , 14 , It might be necessary to take this supplement for longer periods to experience increased bone density, and this effect may be larger in older women. Due to its ability to increase testosterone levels , many believe that DHEA can increase muscle mass or muscle strength However, the majority of research shows that taking DHEA supplements does not increase muscle mass or muscle performance.

This has been shown in young, middle-aged and elderly adults over periods lasting from four weeks to one year 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , Several studies showed that it did not improve physical performance in older adults, but others reported increased upper and lower body strength Overall, because a large number of studies show no benefits for muscle size or strength, DHEA is probably not effective in these two regards.

As with muscle mass, the majority of research indicates that DHEA is not effective at reducing fat mass 17 , 18 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 26 , This form of the supplement, called 7-Keto DHEA, has been reported to increase metabolic rate in overweight men and women In this study, individuals taking the supplement lost about 6. Those in the placebo group only lost 2. Some research in women nearing menopause showed that women with depression had higher levels of this hormone than those without depression However, some individuals with severe depression have lower levels of DHEA than those with milder depression 6.

Other studies have shown no improvements in mental function or depression scores in healthy, middle-aged and elderly adults 33 , 34 , Some researchers even caution against the use of it, as higher levels of DHEA in the body have been associated with increased symptoms of depression in middle-aged women For starters, DHEA supplements may improve the function of the ovaries in women with impaired fertility.

In fact, it increased the success of in vitro fertilization IVF in 25 women experiencing fertility problems Additionally, several studies have shown that these supplements may increase libido and sexual function in both men and women 38 , 39 , If your DHEA levels are off, we have to ask why and peel back the next layer. This, by the way, is one of my favorite things to do.

References Ohnaka K. Clinical calcium , 26 7 , — Dehydroepiandrosterone and Bone. Vitamins and hormones , , — Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA supplementation on sexual function in premenopausal infertile women.

Endocrine , 63 3 , — JBRA assisted reproduction , 22 4 , — The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology , , 77— Stay in touch Facebook Instagram Linkedin 3rd Ave.