Dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation increases baseline follicular phase progesterone levels

Abstract

The use of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation in infertile patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) has become increasingly popular. It has been our observation that serum progesterone levels during the follicular phase are often increased during controlled ovarian stimulation when DHEA is coadministered. Our aim was to compare progesterone levels during the follicular phase before and during DHEA supplementation in women with DOR undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). In a case–control study, we compared progesterone levels during the follicular phase in IVF cycles before and during DHEA supplementation in 15 women with DOR who received 75 mg of DHEA daily. Progesterone levels on stimulation day 5 (0.58 ± 0.29 ng/ml vs. 1.54 ± 0.49 ng/ml; p < 0.0001) and on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin administration (0.75 ± 0.31 ng/ml vs. 1.87 ± 0.49 ng/ml; p < 0.0001) were significantly higher during DHEA treatment. The number of retrieved and fertilized oocytes was similar in both the groups. DHEA administration during IVF cycles in women with DOR causes a significant elevation of progesterone levels without an apparent deleterious effect on cycle outcome.