Testosterone and Women’s Sex Drive

Although testosterone therapy is an effective treatment for low sexual desire in some women, new research has found that levels of this hormone do not correlate with sex drive in young women.

Although testosterone therapy is an effective treatment for low sexual desire in some women, new research has found that levels of this hormone do not correlate with sex drive in young women. In contrast, low levels of DHEA, a chemical that can be turned into testosterone, are associated with decreased sexual desire in women. Although the body naturally produces DHEA, in recent years it has become a popular over-the-counter supplement. “Our hypothesis was that there would be a relationship between low sexual desire and…testosterone levels,” Dr. Susan R. Davis, from Monash University in Clayton, Australia, told Reuters Health. “We didn’t go looking to do a DHEA study, but the data is the data.” Davis presented her team’s findings Thursday in New Orleans at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society. The study involved 1432 women, between 18 and 75 years of age, who were randomly selected from the population in Victoria, Australia over a 15-month period. Each subject gave a blood sample for hormone testing and completed a sexual function questionnaire on the same day. The analysis focused on women younger than 45 years because they had the greatest range in sex hormone levels. Sexual function, which included desire, arousal, responsiveness, orgasm, and pleasure, declined with age, the researchers report. A low DHEA level was tied to low sexual desire and arousal. In contrast, testosterone levels were not associated with either of these factors. Neither DHEA nor testosterone levels were linked to sexual responsiveness, orgasm, or pleasure, the investigators point out. So should DHEA supplements be recommended for women with low sex drive and low DHEA levels? Not necessarily, Davis said, adding that “a low DHEA level may simply be a marker” for low total sex hormone levels. “It’s possible that testosterone is still the best therapy.”(Source: The Endocrine Society: Reuters Health News: Anthony J. Brown, MD: June 2004)