Must Read: Why She Is Feeling That Way In Bed

Women’s desire for sex is far more complex than previously thought, study says

 

A new study has found that hormones do not drive desire. Instead, a woman’s relationship satisfaction and other psychosocial factors may outweigh any hormonal effects, they say.

The new study conducted in Michigan and 6 other clinical sites across the country found levels of testosterone and other naturally-occurring reproductive hormones play a limited role in driving menopausal women’s sexual function.

While testosterone is the main sex hormone in men, women also have small amounts of it, as ovaries naturally produce testosterone.

Researchers wanted to find out exactly what effect it had on sexual function as women go through menopause.

‘While levels of testosterone and other reproductive hormones were linked to women’s feelings of sexual desire, our large-scale study suggests psychosocial factors influence many aspects of sexual function,’ said John Randolph of the University of Michigan Medical School, who led the study in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

‘A woman’s emotional well-being and quality of her intimate relationship are tremendously important contributors to sexual health.’

Researchers examined data from 3,302 women who participated in the ongoing Study of Women’s Health across the Nation (SWAN) to analyze the relationship between reproductive hormones and sexual function during the menopausal transition.