Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, an anxiety disorder, affects about 2.2 million American adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. Symptoms can be mild or so severe that sufferers can't work, maintain relationships or participate in normal activities. Supplements of the hormone DHEA are marketed primarily to athletes as a way to build muscle and improve performance, but researchers are finding there also may be a link between DHEA levels and OCD patients.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCD is a chronic condition where you feel driven to engage in unwanted and frequent thoughts and behaviors, such as repeated hand-washing, repeatedly checking things like the oven to see if it's turned off, having superstitions about numbers, colors, arrangements or even hoarding. Although it's not entirely clear what causes OCD, it usually shows up in childhood or adolescence. Treatments include antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy, but they often have mixed results.
DHEA Effects
DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone made in your adrenal glands and in neuron cells in your brain that is the precursor for other hormones like estrogen and androgens. Your body has a combination of free DHEA and DHEA sulfate, or DHEA-S, which is a DHEA molecule with a sulfur atom attached to it. Dysregulation of DHEA and DHEA-S has been reported in several mood and anxiety disorders. DHEA supplements sometimes contain a synthetic version from wild yam, although it's believed this type can't be metabolized as well by your body.
DHEA Levels With OCD
A case report published in the "Journal of Psychiatric Research" in March 2010 noted that DHEA and DHEA-S concentrations were significantly higher in one young man with OCD than in 15 healthy young men. A separate report published in 2009 in the journal "Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry" investigated OCD marble-burying behavior in rodents with high-DHEA levels and found that using neurosteroid drugs on the rodents helped regulate DHEA and modulated the obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Recommendations
If you have OCD, you should avoid taking DHEA supplements, since you likely already have elevated levels in your body. DHEA also acts like a steroid, which means it may increase your risk for prostate cancer and make you develop more prominent breasts, experience breast tenderness, have increased blood pressure, testicular wasting or increased aggressiveness. Although there aren't any known supplements that can reduce DHEA levels, losing weight has been shown to have that effect in young people.
References
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Dehydroepiandrosterone; May 2011
- PubMed Health; Obsessive-compulsive Disorder; February 2010
- "Journal of Psychiatric Research"; Dysregulation of Neurosteroids in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; K.L. Bigos, et al.; March 2010
- "Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry"; Neurosteroids Modulate Compulsive and Persistent Behavior in Rodents ... ; S.N. Umathe, et al.: October 2010
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: OCD Fact Sheet
- "The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism"; Androgens Before and After Weight Loss in Obese Children; T. Reinehr, et al.; October 2005
