Quick Answer: Dbol and Anadrol cannot be ranked reliably by comparing weight gains from different patient groups. The three primary trials below measured different outcomes over different durations. Their data support specific study findings, rather than a universal winner for strength, retained muscle or side effects.
On this page
- Three trials, three populations
- Weight is not a single endpoint
- Comparisons the numbers support
- How the adverse findings were measured
- Comparison errors
- Reading a product or COA
- Frequently asked questions
The clinical evidence, with populations kept separate
| Record | Population and duration | Exposure studied | Measured finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methandienone training study, 1981 | Seven trained male weightlifters; six-week crossover periods separated by six weeks | 100 mg/day methandienone versus placebo | Weight increased 2.3 kg during drug exposure; the composition measurements did not correspond to normal muscle gain |
| Oxymetholone HIV-wasting trial, 2003 | 89 women and men with HIV-associated wasting; sixteen-week randomized phase | 50 mg twice or three times daily versus placebo | Mean weight gains were 3.5, 3.0 and 1.0 kg, respectively |
| Oxymetholone hemodialysis trial, 2013 | 43 hemodialysis patients; twenty-four weeks | Oral oxymetholone versus placebo | Greater increases in fat-free mass and handgrip strength; liver enzymes also rose |
The training trial involved seven people measured repeatedly, not fourteen independent participants. The other studies involved clinical wasting or dialysis populations. A numerical difference between their results cannot isolate a compound effect from population, duration or measurement differences.
Scale weight, body cell mass and fat-free mass are different endpoints
The methandienone trial measured potassium and nitrogen as well as body weight and muscle dimensions. The nitrogen finding argued against interpreting all the increase as intracellular fluid. However, potassium and nitrogen increased disproportionately to weight; the authors did not characterize the gain as normal muscle. Neither “all water” nor “2.3 kg of normal muscle” represents that finding accurately.
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Try the BMI Calculator →In the HIV-wasting study, body cell mass increased 3.8 kg in the twice-daily group and 2.1 kg in the three-times-daily group. Body cell mass from bioimpedance is a distinct measurement, not interchangeable with scale weight or a direct measurement of retained skeletal muscle after treatment.
The dialysis trial measured fat-free mass, handgrip strength and muscle biopsy outcomes. Fat-free mass is not the same endpoint as the earlier trial's nitrogen measurement. Its clinical population also does not establish a bodybuilding ranking.
Compare treatment with its own placebo group first
| Group | Mean change | Placebo mean change | Calculated difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 mg twice daily | 3.5 kg | 1.0 kg | 2.5 kg |
| 50 mg three times daily | 3.0 kg | 1.0 kg | 2.0 kg |
These are subtractions of reported group means, not adjusted effects or predicted individual results. The higher-frequency group's displayed mean gain was not larger. That observation does not prove a universal dose-response relationship.
Dividing the gains by weeks would create superficially comparable numbers while preserving the incompatible populations and endpoints. A six-week training crossover and a sixteen-week wasting trial do not become a valid head-to-head comparison through that calculation.
Read the adverse-event definition beside the percentage
The original HIV-wasting publication reports alanine aminotransferase increases greater than five times baseline in 27% of the twice-daily group, 35% of the three-times-daily group and none of the placebo group. The endpoint and the treatment-group order matter.
The dialysis trial reports increased liver enzymes, but no difference between groups in the number of values above three times the upper limit of normal. “Five times baseline” and “three times the upper limit of normal” use different reference values. Their percentages cannot be compared as though they measured the same event.
Three errors that change the conclusion
The receptor-to-treatment leap. These clinical records do not test whether an aromatase inhibitor controls compound-specific breast symptoms or fluid retention. They do not substantiate a direct estrogen-receptor mechanism as the explanation for treatment response. A mechanistic assertion cannot substitute for a measured clinical comparison.
Scale weight versus retained muscle. The trials use different composition measures and do not establish a universal post-treatment muscle-retention winner. Keep each endpoint attached to its method and follow-up.
Product identity. A label, chromatogram and identity assay answer different questions. The named clinical trials do not establish the contents of a separately purchased product or a universal rate of substitution in its supply chain.
A useful product or COA comparison
Record the exact stated ingredient, reporting unit, batch identifier, analytical method and reference material. Separate a chromatographic peak-area percentage from a measured amount per tablet or mL. A product name alone does not establish that these quantities were tested.
Use the same measurement basis on both sides of a comparison. A clinical trial reports its study exposure and participants; it does not verify a different product's batch. This distinction is more useful than attaching a precise half-life or universal dosing frequency without a matching primary pharmacokinetic record.
Frequently asked questions
Does Anadrol build more muscle than Dbol?
The three cited trials do not directly test that question in the same population. Their results cannot establish a universal muscle-gain winner.
Was the Dbol trial's weight gain all water?
No. The authors' nitrogen findings argue against that interpretation, while also preventing a simple normal-muscle interpretation.
Can I compare the liver percentages directly?
Only after checking the event definition, comparator, population and follow-up. Baseline multiples and upper-limit-of-normal multiples are different denominators.
Primary references
- Methandienone and athletic training, 1981
- Original oxymetholone HIV-wasting trial, 2003
- Oxymetholone hemodialysis trial, 2013
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