Androstenedione

What Androstenedione Measures

Androstenedione sits at a junction in the steroid pathway. Two organs feed the circulating pool. In the ovary, theca cells produce androstenedione when LH stimulates them.^[5] The adrenal cortex makes it too, alongside DHEA and DHEA-S.^[1] A serum result describes that combined pool, not either gland alone.^[2]

What makes androstenedione interesting is where it goes next. Peripheral tissues convert it into testosterone, one of the main conversions in androgen metabolism.^[1] Our testosterone entry covers how much of a woman's testosterone starts out as androstenedione. Aromatase runs the other branch. In fat tissue, aromatase converts androstenedione mainly into estrone.^[3] Inside the ovary, granulosa cells convert theca-derived androstenedione into estradiol.^[5] So one precursor feeds both the androgen line and the estrogen line.

How It's Measured

Androstenedione comes from a standard blood draw, measured in serum.^[4] Timing shapes the number in two ways. Across the day, plasma androstenedione closely parallels cortisol's circadian rhythm, so levels run higher in the morning and lower later on.^[1] Across the cycle, studies of younger cycling women show a rise around midcycle.^[4]

Why People Track Androstenedione

Androstenedione usually appears as one line on an androgen workup, next to total testosterone, free testosterone, DHEA-S, and sometimes 17-OH progesterone. Each marker speaks for a different part of the androgen picture. DHEA-S reflects the adrenal side, testosterone the active end product, and androstenedione the shared pool both glands feed.^[1],[2] It's a descriptive part of that panel, not something to interpret on your own. The clinician reading the full workup draws the conclusions.

For how androstenedione fits alongside the other hormones people test together, see At-Home Hormone Tests, Explained.

How Go Go Gaia Tracks Androstenedione

Androstenedione is a lab value, so you won't get it from a wearable or a daily log. Upload a lab report PDF or CSV to the web app and Go Go Gaia pulls out the androstenedione value, stores it in ng/dL, and charts it over time next to your cycle data and other logged metrics.

What the Research Shows

A study in Fertility and Sterility that sampled women across the menstrual cycle found a midcycle rise in androstenedione and free testosterone in younger women. In older reproductive-aged women, that midcycle rise was consistently absent, which the authors read as evidence of diminished midcycle ovarian androgen production with age.^[4]

Endocrinology references describe a daily rhythm: plasma DHEA, androstenedione, and testosterone concentrations closely parallel the circadian rhythm of plasma cortisol.^[1]

The balance between the two source glands shifts across the cycle. In the follicular phase, adrenal precursors account for about two-thirds of testosterone production.^[1]

Related Terms

Frequently Asked Questions

Educational information based on published sources. Not medical advice. For personal concerns, please consult your doctor.

Is androstenedione the same as the "andro" supplement?

No. Androstenedione was once sold as a sports supplement under the name "andro," and that's a separate topic this page doesn't cover. Here, androstenedione means the hormone your body makes, measured as a lab value on a blood panel.

What's the difference between androstenedione and testosterone?

Testosterone is an active androgen that binds the androgen receptor directly. Androstenedione mostly isn't active on its own. It works as a precursor that tissues convert into testosterone, or through aromatase into the estrogen estrone. A panel that reports both is describing the supply line and the end product.

Where does androstenedione come from?

Both the ovaries and the adrenal glands make it. In the ovary, theca cells produce androstenedione when LH stimulates them. The adrenal cortex adds its own share. Peripheral tissues, including fat, then convert the circulating pool into testosterone and estrone.