Sexual dysfunction in premenopausal women could be related to hormonal profile

Abstract

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a public health problem that affects women's quality of life. Although the relationship between some hormones and the FSD has been described, it is not well established for all hormones. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the association between hormonal dysfunction and sexual dysfunction in premenopausal women. We performed a cross-sectional study with 60 patients with regular menstrual cycles, with age ranging from 18 to 44 years, with previous diagnosis of FSD. All patients were evaluated using the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire and had the levels of total testosterone, prolactin (PRL), thyroid-releasing hormone and free testosterone index measured. Among the 60 patients, 43 (71.7%) were diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), 9 (15%) had anorgasmy and 8 (3.3%) had sexual pain dysfunction. Hormonal evaluation, demonstrated that 79.1% of patients with HSDD, 78.4% of patients with anorgasmy and 50% of patients with sexual pain dysfunction had female androgen insensitivity. We can conclude that there is an important association between low levels of total and free testosterone and FSD. This finding offers a new alternative for diagnosis and treatment of HSDD. Moreover, given the potential role of androgens in sexual function, randomized controlled trials with adequate long-term follow-up are essential to confirm its possible effect.

Chinese abstract

女性性功能障碍 (FSD) 是一个影响女性生活质量的公共卫生问题。尽管已有研究讨论过一些激素和FSD之间的关系, 但其并非对所有激素均适用。因此, 我们研究的目的是评估激素水平失调与围绝经期女性的性功能障碍之间的关系。我们对60例月经周期规律的已诊断为FSD的患者进行了横断面研究, 患者年龄跨度从18到44岁。所有患者均使用女性性功能指数 (FSFI) 问卷进行评估, 并测量体内的总睾酮、催乳素 (PRL) 、甲状腺激素和游离睾酮水平。在60例患者中, 43例 (71.7％) 患者被诊断为性欲减退功能障碍 (HSDD) , 9例 (15％) 患者性快感缺乏, 8例 (3.3％) 患者有性疼痛功能障碍。激素水平测量显示79.1％的HSDD患者、78.4％的性快感缺乏患者及50％的性疼痛功能障碍患者对雄激素不敏感。我们可以得出结论, 低水平的总睾酮和游离睾酮与FSD之间有重要联系。这一发现为HSDD的诊断和治疗提供了新的替代方案。因此, 充足的随机对照试验长期随访对于确认雄激素在性功能中的潜在作用是很有必要的。

Keywords:

• Female
• prolactin
• sexual dysfunction
• testosterone

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.