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6 July 2005
Testosterone Levels And Libido Unrelated Says Study 
We are frequently told that sexual dysfunction, primarily low libido, is prevalent among women. According to some figures, up to 50 percent of women say they suffer from a low sex drive. While past research has suggested that low testosterone levels may be to blame, a new study has found that androgen (sex hormone) levels were not found to be predictive of low sexual function in women. The study, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was compiled by researchers from the Monash Medical School in Australia. The study, designed to determine if low sexual function is associated with low serum androgen levels, included nearly 1,500 women aged between 18 and 75. Women were surveyed and serum levels of total and free testosterone, androstenedione (an androgenic steroid), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS, a natural steroid hormone) were measured. It is widely believed that a low serum free testosterone level is an indicator of symptoms such as low libido and low sexual responsiveness. The researchers found, however, that there was little evidence that a low serum testosterone level distinguishes women with low sexual function. "We found no evidence of associations between low scores for any of the sexual domains evaluated and low serum total and free testosterone levels," said the study author, Susan R. Davis.
The study went further and suggested that the measurement of other so-called sex hormones may be not be helpful in identifying sexual function problems. "In addition to demonstrating that the measurement of testosterone is not useful for the diagnosis of the proposed female androgen insufficiency syndrome, our findings also do not support a diagnostically useful role for the measurement of DHEAS. This is because despite the increased likelihood that women with low sexual function have a low DHEAS level, the majority of women with a low DHEAS level did not report low sexual function," said Davis. In closing, the study acknowledged that while sex hormones do influence female sexual function, there was no absolute level that defined female androgen insufficiency. "The measurement of serum testosterone, free testosterone, or DHEAS in individuals presenting with low sexual function is not informative and levels of these hormones should not be used for the purpose of diagnosing androgen insufficiency in women," said Davis in conclusion.
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