DHEA-S
μmol/L
Adrenal androgen often bundled into 'optimization' panels. Causal behavioral evidence is thin.
DHEA-S declines with age and correlates with perceived vitality in some observational series. Supplementation trials do not support a reliable effect on status, cognition, or income. Treat it as a biomarker looking for a job.
Also called DHEAS, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate.
Connected relationships
Randomized trial · Moderate
DHEA-S→Cognitive performance
A rise in DHEA-S does not identify a change in Cognitive performance.
A year of 50 mg DHEA did not move six cognitive tests against placebo in 225 healthy adults aged 55 to 85. A Cochrane review of earlier RCTs and a 13-week crossover in 46 older men also found no cognitive benefit.
Randomized trial · Low
DHEA-S→Status seeking
A rise in DHEA-S does not identify a change in Status seeking.
DHEA-S on an optimization panel is not a status intervention.
Sources
- D Kritz-Silverstein et al. (2008). Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation on cognitive function and quality of life: the DHEA and Well-Ness (DAWN) Trial.
- TD Parsons et al. (2006). Dhea supplementation and cognition in postmenopausal women.
- J Grimley Evans et al. (2007). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation for cognitive function in healthy elderly people.
- JK van Niekerk et al. (2001). Salivary cortisol and DHEA: association with measures of cognition and well-being in normal older men, and effects of three months of DHEA supplementation.
- E. E. Baulieu et al. (2000). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, and aging: contribution of the DHEAge Study to a sociobiomedical issue