Context: Recent studies disputed the widely promoted anti-aging effect of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation; however, conflicting data exist on whether physiological DHEA supplementation enhances exercise training effects on body composition, physical performance, and cardiometabolic risk in healthy postmenopausal women

Objective: To determine whether 12 weeks of DHEA supplementation (50 mg·day^-1) in postmenopausal women enhances exercise-related changes in body composition, physical performance, and cardiometabolic risk.

Design: 12-week randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Mayo Clinic General Clinical Research Center, Rochester, MN.

Participants: Thirty-one sedentary, postmenopausal, Caucasian women [age (y): 64.6 (1.0), mean (SEM)] completed the study.

Intervention: Participants were randomized to one of two 12-week interventions: i) exercise training plus 50 mg·day^-1 of DHEA (N = 17) or ii) exercise training plus placebo (N = 14). The exercise intervention consisted of both endurance (4 days per week) and resistance (3 days per week) exercise components.

Main Outcome Measures: The main outcomes were measures of body composition, physical performance, and measures of cardiometabolic risk.

Results: DHEA treatment with exercise resulted in increases in circulating DHEA-S (650%), total testosterone (100%), estradiol (165%), estrone (85%), and IGF-I (30%), all p0.05, for all within and between treatment comparisons. While exercise training alone significantly improved physical performance, body composition, and insulin sensitivity, administration of DHEA provided limited additional benefits.

Conclusions: Twelve weeks of combined endurance and resistance training significantly improved body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol particle number and size, while DHEA no additional benefits.