DHT (dihydrotestosterone) is an androgen hormone that stimulates the development of male characteristics and affects the sexual development of people assigned male at birth (AMAB) throughout their lives, beginning as early as in fetal development. The role of DHT changes as people AMAB progress through different life stages. Scientists aren’t sure if and how DHT affects people assigned female at birth (AFAB), but they think it may play a role in body hair and pubic hair growth.

Excess testosterone production can cause DHT to increase, and conditions that exhibit increased DHT activity include benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer, male pattern hair loss (androgenic alopecia), and excessive male-pattern hair growth in females (hirsutism) .

Symptoms of high DHT in males may include increased male-pattern hair growth, acne, depression, abnormal changes to genitalia, and absent menstrual periods in females. However, males who have high levels of DHT may not have symptoms.

While high levels of DHT can increase the risk of certain conditions, such as prostate cancer and coronary heart disease, low levels of DHT can also cause problems in sexual development as people go through puberty. Low DHT may cause delays in the onset of puberty for all sexes. Otherwise, low DHT doesn’t appear to have much effect on women, but in men, low DHT may cause late or incomplete development of sex organs, changes in body fat distribution, and an increase in the risk of developing aggressive prostate tumors.

Lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet, high levels of stress, and aging can naturally increase DHT levels.