Skip to content
Blood Test Tracker

DHEA Sulfate (DHEA-S)

A hormone made by your adrenal glands that your body uses to make sex hormones. It peaks in your twenties and falls with age, so ranges depend on age and sex.

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewAlso called DHEA-S, DHEAS, DHEA-SO4LOINC 2191-5

Check your result

Sex (optional)

The usual range for DHEA-S depends on sex. Choose female or male above to see where you stand.

Nothing you type here leaves your browser.

What it is

DHEA-S is a hormone made mostly by the adrenal glands, which sit above your kidneys. Your body uses it as a building block for sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, and both sexes make it. Unlike many hormones, DHEA-S stays fairly steady through the day, and half of it clears from the blood in about a day. It rises through childhood and the teen years, peaks in your twenties, then slowly falls as you age.

Why it matters

Clinicians use DHEA-S to look at how much male-type hormone (androgen) the adrenal glands are making. It is often ordered with testosterone when someone has extra body or facial hair, irregular periods or acne, or when a child shows signs of early puberty. Because usual levels change so much with age and sex, a result only makes sense next to the range for your age and sex.

If it’s low

DHEA-S falls naturally with age, so a lower result is often just a normal part of getting older. Low levels can also come from some medicines. Less often they are linked to conditions where the adrenal or pituitary glands aren't making enough hormones.

Common causes

  • Normal aging. Levels fall to about 20% of their peak over decades
  • Corticosteroids, birth control pills, insulin, statins and some anti-seizure drugs or antidepressants
  • Adrenal insufficiency such as Addison disease (uncommon)
  • Hypopituitarism, when the pituitary gland makes too little of its hormones (uncommon)

What can help

  • Ask your clinician how your result compares with the range for your age and sex
  • Review your medicines with your clinician to see whether any could lower DHEA-S
  • Talk with your clinician before using DHEA supplements. MedlinePlus notes there is no reliable evidence for anti-aging claims

If it’s high

Mild increases are common and often have no clear cause. In women, higher DHEA-S is linked to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Less often it is linked to adrenal gland conditions, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia or an adrenal tumor. Very high levels, around 600 µg/dL or more in adults (Mayo), are uncommon and usually lead to more testing. Many other things can cause a high result, and your clinician can put it in context.

Common causes

  • Normal variation. Mild increases with no clear cause are common
  • DHEA supplements
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women
  • Some medicines, including metformin, danazol and certain calcium channel blockers
  • Early adrenal maturation in children (premature adrenarche), which is usually harmless
  • Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an inherited difference in adrenal enzymes
  • An adrenal tumor that makes androgens (uncommon)

What can help

  • Ask your clinician whether a DHEA supplement or any medicine could be affecting the result
  • Ask whether other hormone tests, such as testosterone, would help put the number in context
  • Compare with the range for your age and sex on your own lab's report

Usual ranges

What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.

The usual range depends on sex and age. Choose women or men to see the one that applies.

Children and teens 11 ranges
  • 0.08–04.8–64.1 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Men, 1–40.1–56.4 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Women, 1–41.8–97.2 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Men, 5–818–194 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Women, 5–826.1–141.9 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Men, 9–1149.5–270.5 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Women, 9–1135–192.6 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Men, 12–1449.5–270.5 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Women, 12–1467.8–328.6 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Men, 15–19115.3–459.6 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

  • Women, 15–19110–433.2 µg/dL

    Source: Labcorp

See DHEA-S by age and sex, with the U.S. survey numbers where they exist.

If this applies to you

DHEA-S means a little more for some people. Open the one that fits you.

PCOS

If testosterone and free testosterone aren't raised, the guideline says DHEA-S and androstenedione could be checked, ideally by LC-MS/MS. They are less specific for PCOS, and DHEA-S falls with age.

Blood tests for PCOS

How common is your level?

NHANES describes the US civilian, non-institutionalized population, not a 'healthy' reference group. People with disease, on medication, fasting or not (except fasting-subsample markers), smokers and so on are all included. A percentile says where a value sits among Americans of that sex and age, not whether it is normal.

How DHEA-S varies with age in the U.S.Shaded: middle 90% and middle 50% of people. Line: the median. µg/dL. Point at any age, or focus the chart and use the arrow keys, to read both sexes in words.

Use the left and right arrow keys to read each age. Shift moves five years.

Reference data derived from CDC/NCHS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), cycles August 2021-August 2023. Analysis by bloodtesttracker.com; not endorsed by CDC, NCHS or HHS.

Explore DHEA-S by age and sex: every percentile as a table, with a download.

What can affect your result

  • Age: levels peak in the twenties and fall steadily afterward
  • Sex: men usually have higher levels than women of the same age
  • Puberty and early adrenal maturation in children
  • DHEA supplements and certain medicines
  • Assay method: ranges differ between labs
  • High-dose biotin supplements can interfere with some assays
  • High-dose biotin (vitamin B7) can interfere with some assays; Labcorp advises stopping biotin at least 72 hours before the draw unless your clinician says otherwise.
  • DHEA supplements raise DHEA-S, because the body converts DHEA into DHEA-S.
  • Medicines that can lower it include corticosteroids, birth control pills, insulin, some anti-seizure drugs and antidepressants that speed up liver enzymes (such as carbamazepine, phenytoin and imipramine), statins and cholestyramine, levodopa and bromocriptine, fish oil and vitamin E (Mayo list).
  • Medicines that may raise it include metformin, danazol, some calcium channel blockers (such as diltiazem and amlodipine) and nicotine (Mayo list).
  • Rarely, antibodies to mouse proteins (heterophile antibodies) can distort an immunoassay result.
  • Assays aren't standardized, so intervals and results differ between labs and methods.

Any time of day. DHEA-S doesn't change much across the day (Mayo). The half-life is about a day, so short-term changes from supplements or medicines can show up within days. Age-related change happens slowly over decades.

When to talk to a clinician

Talk with a clinician if your result is outside the range for your age and sex, especially with new facial or body hair, a deeper voice or irregular periods, or signs of early puberty in a child. Mayo notes that results of 600 µg/dL or more in an adult can suggest an adrenal tumor that makes androgens. These are uncommon, but a result that high deserves a prompt conversation with the clinician who ordered the test.

Questions you could ask

  • Which lab and method should I use if we plan to track this over time?
  • Could a supplement or medicine I take be raising my DHEA-S?
  • Would other hormone tests, such as testosterone, help put this in context?
  • How does my result compare with the range for my age and sex at this lab?
  • Could my age or a medicine I take explain a lower DHEA-S?
  • Do my other hormone or adrenal tests need a follow-up?

Questions people ask

Why do labs give such different DHEA-S ranges?

DHEA-S tests aren't standardized across methods, and each lab builds its ranges from different groups of people. For men aged 20 to 24, for example, Labcorp lists 164–531 µg/dL and ARUP lists 211–492. Always use the range printed on your own report.

Why does my DHEA-S drop as I get older?

Adrenal output of DHEA-S peaks around age 20 and then falls slowly, reaching about 20% of peak over many decades. This is a normal part of aging. Mayo notes that the health meaning of this drop is unknown, and that trials of DHEA replacement in older adults haven't shown convincing benefits.

Is DHEA-S the same as DHEA?

They are related but not the same. DHEA-S is the sulfate form of DHEA. Half of it clears from the blood in about a day, and it is roughly a thousand times more concentrated, so it gives a steadier picture of adrenal hormone output than DHEA does.

Will DHEA supplements change my result?

Yes. Your body converts DHEA from supplements into DHEA-S, so your level can rise. Mayo notes that there are no established guidelines for DHEA supplementation or for monitoring it. Talk with your clinician before using DHEA supplements.

How do I convert µg/dL to µmol/L?

Multiply µg/dL by 0.0271, so 100 µg/dL is about 2.7 µmol/L. To go the other way, multiply µmol/L by 36.85.

Show the science and sources

Units

  • 1 µg/dL = 1 µg/dL
  • 1 µg/dL = 0.02714 µmol/L

Open the DHEA-S unit converter

Is a change real?

DHEA-S naturally varies about 9% from test to test in the same healthy person. Between two results from the same lab, a change of roughly 28% or more is unlikely to be day-to-day noise or lab variation (95% reference change value). Source: The European biological variation study (EuBIVAS): Biological variation data for testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in men (Itkonen O et al.; corrigendum 2024;559:119720).

For clinicians and researchers

DHEA-S is the 3-sulfate of DHEA, secreted mainly by the zona reticularis under ACTH influence. It is tightly bound to albumin (none appears to be bound to SHBG), has a half-life of about one day and a concentration roughly a thousand times that of DHEA (Labcorp), which gives it low day-to-day and within-day variability and makes it a preferred marker of adrenal androgen output. Steroid sulfatases in the gonads and skin convert it back to DHEA. Levels peak near age 20 and decline to about 20% of peak over four to six decades (Mayo). Clinical uses: hyperandrogenism work-up alongside other sex steroids, an adjunct in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and in premature adrenarche. In CAH, levels are often 5- to 10-fold raised, but Mayo notes other steroids are better diagnostic tools than DHEA-S, with the possible exception of 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency. Mayo reports that DHEA-S is raised in more than 90% of patients with androgen-secreting adrenal tumors, usually well above 600 µg/dL, and that 600 µg/dL or more in an adult can suggest such a tumor. Mild elevations in adults are usually idiopathic. Immunoassays dominate (Roche cobas ECLIA at Labcorp, Beckman Access at Mayo); they are not harmonized, and age- and sex-specific intervals vary widely between labs and assays. An LC-MS/MS method exists (LOINC 107494-7). Convert µg/dL to µmol/L with x0.02714 (free acid, MW 368.5). Mayo notes there are no established guidelines for DHEA-S replacement or its biochemical monitoring.

LOINC 2191-5 (primary), 14688-6, 107494-7. Specimen: serum-or-plasma.

Sources

  1. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Sulfate (test 004020), Labcorp
  2. DHES1: Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, Serum, Mayo Clinic Laboratories
  3. Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, Serum (ARUP test 0070040), ARUP Laboratories
  4. DHEA Sulfate Test, MedlinePlus (NIH)
  5. Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (PubChem CID 12594), PubChem (NIH)

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.

Related markers