Research paper
DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly men.
Study answer
What this study found
Overall, DHEA or low-dose testosterone did not produce physiologically relevant improvements in body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, or quality of life. In elderly men, DHEA increased sulfated DHEA by a median of 3.4 μg/mL (9.2 μmol/L) versus placebo and increased estradiol, but did not significantly improve body-composition measures, peak VO2, muscle strength, or insulin sensitivity; HDL cholesterol decreased and femoral-neck BMD increased. In elderly women, DHEA increased sulfated DHEA by a median of 3.8 μg/mL (10.3 μmol/L), increased bioavailable estradiol,…
- Study & population
- Randomized placebo-controlled intervention study in elderly men and women with low sulfated DHEA, and low bioavailable testosterone in men.
- Intervention
- Elderly men received oral DHEA 75 mg/day for about 2 years (median 23.2 months), and a separate men’s arm received transdermal testosterone 5 mg/day for about 2 years.
- Key limitation
- Sample sizes were modest within each active arm, which limits power to detect clinically meaningful changes and adverse events.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone are widely promoted as antiaging supplements, but the long-term benefits, as compared with potential harm, are unknown. METHODS We performed a 2-year, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-bl…