ArticleClinical endocrinology2019
Sex-specific effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on bone mineral density and body composition: A pooled analysis of four clinical trials.
Article in Clinical endocrinology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endogenous DHEAS Is Causally Linked With Lumbar Spine Bone Mineral Density and Forearm Fractures in Women.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Pooled it
- Anti-aging effects of the adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate: mechanisms of action and beneficial effects in older people.Endocrine journal · 2026Review
- Impact of DHEA supplementation on testosterone and estradiol levels in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing dose and duration effects.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Review
- Dehydroepiandrosterone and Bone Health: Mechanisms and Insights.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Hypopituitarism and bone disease: pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment outcomes.Pituitary · 2024Review
- Dehydroepiandrosterone and Its Metabolite 5-Androstenediol: New Therapeutic Targets and Possibilities for Clinical Application.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Association of Hormonal Exposures With Grip Strength in Women >45 Years: Data From the CONSTANCES Cohort Study.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2024Article
- The Current Landscape of Pharmacotherapies for Sarcopenia.Drugs & aging · 2024Article
- Steroid hormone levels and bone mineral density in women over 65 years of age.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Sex-Based Difference in Bone Healing: A Review of Recent Pre-clinical Literature.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2022Review
- Dehydroepiandrosterone in fibrotic interstitial lung disease: a translational study.Respiratory research · 2022Article
- Should Dehydroepiandrosterone Be Administered to Women?The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Review
- Serum concentrations of oxytocin, DHEA and follistatin are associated with osteoporosis or sarcopenia in community-dwelling postmenopausal women.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- Aquatic Exercise Positively Affects Physiological Frailty among Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Association of Body Compositions and Bone Mineral Density in Chinese Children and Adolescents: Compositional Data Analysis.BioMed research international · 2021Article
- Gender-Specific Body Composition Relationships between Adipose Tissue Distribution and Peak Bone Mineral Density in Young Chinese Adults.BioMed research international · 2020Article
- Using MRI to measure in vivo free radical production and perfusion dynamics in a mouse model of elevated oxidative stress and neurogenic atrophy.Redox biology · 2019Article
- Dehydroepiandrosterone: a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment and rehabilitation of the traumatically injured patient.Burns & trauma · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveStudies of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) therapy in older adults suggest sex-specific effects on bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition, but the ability of a single study to reach this conclusion was limited. We evaluated the effects of DHEA on sex hormones, BMD, fat mass and fat-free mass in older women and men enrolled in four similar clinical trials.
designPooled analyses of data from four double-blinded, randomized controlled trials.
participantsWomen (n = 295) and men (n = 290) aged 55 years or older who took DHEA or placebo tablet daily for 12 months. MEASUREMENTS: Twelve-month changes in BMD, fat mass, fat-free mass and serum DHEA sulphate (DHEAS), (17)estradiol, testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).
resultsWomen on DHEA had increases (mean ± SD; all P < 0.001 vs placebo) in DHEAS (231 ± 164 µg/dL), testosterone (18.6 ± 20.9 µg/dL), (17)estradiol (8.7 ± 11.0 pg/mL) and IGF-1 (25.1 ± 52.3 ng/mL), and men had increases in DHEAS (269.0 ± 177 µg/dL; P < 0.01), (17)estradiol (4.8 ± 12.2 pg/m; P < 0.01) and IGF-1 (6.3 ± 41.4 ng/mL; P < 0.05). Women on DHEA had increases in lumbar spine (1.0% ± 3.4%) and trochanter (0.5% ± 3.8%) BMD and maintained total hip BMD (0.0% ± 2.8%); men had no BMD benefit and a decrease in fat mass (-0.4 ± 2.6 kg; all P < 0.01 vs placebo).
conclusionsDehydroepiandrosterone therapy may be an effective approach for preserving bone and muscle mass in women. Key questions are (a) the extent to which longer duration DHEA can attenuate the loss of bone and muscle in women, and (b) whether DHEA has a more favourable benefit-to-risk profile for women than oestrogen therapy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.