Is There a Correlation Between Androgens and Sexual Desire in Women?

Abstract

Introduction For women, the correlation between circulating androgens and sexual desire is inconclusive. Substitution with androgens at physiological levels improves sexual function in women who experience decreased sexual desire and androgen deficiency from surgical menopause, pituitary disease, and age-related decline in androgen production in the ovaries. Measuring bioactive testosterone is difficult and new methods have been proposed, including measuring the primary androgen metabolite androsterone glucuronide (ADT-G). Aim The aim of this study was to investigate a possible correlation between serum levels of androgens and sexual desire in women and whether the level of ADT-G is better correlated than the level of circulating androgens with sexual desire. Methods This was a cross-sectional study including 560 healthy women aged 19–65 years divided into three age groups. Correlations were considered to be statistically significant at P < 0.05. Main Outcome Measure Sexual desire was determined as the total score of the sexual desire domain of the Female Sexual Function Index. Total testosterone (TT), calculated free testosterone (FT), androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and ADT-G were analyzed using mass spectrometry. Results Sexual desire correlated overall with FT and androstenedione in the total cohort of women. In a subgroup of women aged 25–44 years with no use of systemic hormonal contraception, sexual desire correlated with TT, FT, androstenedione, and DHEAS. In women aged 45–65 years, androstenedione correlated with sexual desire. No correlations between ADT-G and sexual desire were identified. Conclusions In the present study, FT and androstenedione were statistically significantly correlated with sexual desire in the total cohort of women. ADT-G did not correlate more strongly than circulating androgens with sexual desire and is therefore not superior to measuring circulating androgens by mass spectrometry.

Objectivity and realms of explanation in academic journal articles concerning sex/gender: a comparison of Gender studies and the other social sciences

“…being biologically a man or woman). These and other papers throughout the social sciences find relationships between sex and other variables, such as age, relationship status, parenthood, and many other environmental influences, in patterns predicted by evolutionary theories, in particular those related to differential parental investment, costly signaling, and mate selection (e.g., Buss and Shackelford 2008; Stoet and Geary 2015; Verweij et al 2016; Wåhlin-Jacobsen et al 2015; for reviews, see Buss 2003; Schmitt 2005). It is reasonable to assume that these theoretical perspectives, by and large, explain a substantial proportion of the variance related to group or individual differences, otherwise would these approaches have waned for lack of empirical support.…”

Surgical Menopause

“…Circulating levels of testosterone and androstenedione are linked to direct positive impacts on libido. 88 The removal of the premenopausal ovary and the sudden and significant reductions in testosterone and androstenedione are thought to have a negative impact on sexual desire. During subsequent years, women with surgical menopause continue to have lower levels of testosterone than those with intact ovaries, [21][22][23][24][25][26]89 and continued impact on sexual function is also suspect.…”

Impact of Physical Resistance Training on the Sexual Function of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

“…These phenotypes cause a worsening of self‐image and reduced self‐esteem in women with PCOS [4], negatively affecting their quality of life [5]. Overweight/obesity is observed in many women with PCOS and is regarded as the major cause of psychologic morbidity [6] and may compromise sexual function [7], masking the positive effects of androgens sex drive [8]. The rates of depression and other affective disorders are higher in these women [9] and contribute to reductions in sexual function [10].…”