LOWERED TESTOSTERONE IN OLDER WOMEN
Report #7087; 4/11/97
After the age of 50, some men start to lose interest in making love because their bodies can't produce as much testosterone as they did when they were younger. The same is true for older women.
A woman's body produces both male and female hormones, just like a man's body does, and to a large degree, a woman's interest in making love depends on how much masculinizing hormone, her body produces. A recent report in the medical journal, Fertility and Sterility, shows that aging is associated with a reduction in the male hormones that are produced by a woman's ovaries and adrenal glands (1). Like older men, older women with low blood levels of male hormones are more likely to suffer reduced sexual desire and they can benefit from taking male hormones (2,3). The male hormone, testosterone is converted in the body to the more active dihydrotestosterone. Women most likely to lose interest in lovemaking at the time of the menopause are those with higher blood levels of dihydrotestosterone (4), the hormone that causes women to have darker hairs on their bodies and faces and larger muscles and bones. These women are most likely to increase their sexual desire when they are given male hormones (4).
While the female hormone, estrogen, does not increase sexual desire, a study from Sweden shows that it improves satisfaction with frequency of sexual activity,/ sexual fantasies,/ degree of enjoyment,/ vaginal lubrication/ and pain during intercourse (5). If you are a menopausal woman who is bothered by reduced interest in lovemaking, check with your doctor. If you are in a healthful relationship and are not overworked or sick, your doctor may prescribe a combination estrogen-testosterone pill (Estratest. 0.625 esterified estrogen plus 2.5 mg testosterone), injections of testosterone enanthate (100 mg three times a week for three doses.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
1) T Mushayandebvu, VD Castracane, T Gimpel, T Adel, N Santoro. Evidence for diminished midcycle ovarian androgen production in older reproductive aged women. Fertility and Sterility 65: 4 (APR 1996): 721-723.
2) Cardozo L et al. The effects of subcutaneous hormone implants during the climacteric. Maturitas 1984; 5: 177-184.
3) Burger HG et al. The management of persistant menopausal symptoms wuth estradiol-testosterone implants: clinical, lipid and h ormonal results. Maturitas 1984; 6: 351-358.
4) RG Kennedy, T Davies, F Alazzawi. Sexual interest in postmenopausal women is related to 5 alpha-reductase activity. Human Reproduction 12: 2 (FEB 1997): 209-213.
5) J Nathorstboos, I Wiklund, LA Mattsson, K Sandin, B Vonschoultz. Is Sexual Life Influenced by Transdermal Estrogen Therapy - A Double Blind Placebo Controlled Study in Postmenopausal Women. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 1994 (Nov); 72(8): 656-660
6) CT Halpern, JR Udry, C Suchindran. Testosterone predicts initiation of coitus in adolescent females. Psychosomatic Medicine 59: 2 (MAR-APR 1997): 161-171.
Health Reports from The Dr. Gabe Mirkin Show and DrMirkin.com