DHEA vs Pregnenolone for mood
Short answer: For mood, more users report improvement with Pregnenolone — 94% of 31 reports, versus 87% of 30 for DHEA.
DHEA has 215 meta-analyses and 637 randomized trials on PubMed; Pregnenolone has 12 and 36.
Based on 306 reports about DHEA and 246 about Pregnenolone. Not medical advice.
| DHEA Supplement | Pregnenolone Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 56%helped98 reports · medium confidence | 53%helped79 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 215 / 637 | 12 / 36 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Hormones % reporting improvement | 91% (44) | 79% (24) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 87% (30) | 94% (31) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 92% (26) | 86% (21) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | 91% (32) | 67% (15) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 86% (7) | 77% (30) |
| Common side effects | acne, vivid dreams, rage, virilization | hair loss, demotivation, jitteriness, androgenic symptoms |
| Typical dose reported | 25 mg / 1 hour before bed | 5 mg / 2x daily |
Vaginal estrogen, vaginal DHEA, oral ospemifene, and vaginal moisturizers may improve some GSM symptoms in the short term. Few long-term data exist on efficacy, comparative effectiveness, tolerability, and safety of GSM treatments.
Ann Intern Med, 2024 ↗“DHEA, minimum 50 mg was a huge game changer for my wife. More energy, libido, dopamine/happy mood, concentration- everything.”
Women with anorexia nervosa have higher cortisol levels and lower DHEA-S and testosterone levels compared to women without anorexia nervosa. This finding is important to consider when evaluating low-weight women for disorders involving the adrenal axis, especially Cushing's syndrome.
Eur J Endocrinol, 2023 ↗“I know pregnenalone helped me with that anxiety... 25mg a day is wonderful.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate