Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Sexual dysfunction could be under the influence of menopause and the changes it causes in hormone levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between serum levels of androgens and sexual function in post-menopausal women.

Methods: This is a community-based, descriptive-analytical study involving 405 post-menopausal women, aged 40–65 years, who had reached menopause up to 3 years prior to the study. A multi-stage, randomized sampling was conducted in the cities of Chalous and Nowshahr. The data was collected using the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire, a researcher-made questionnaire, and blood sampling to study the serum levels of androgens (testosterone and DHEAS), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and oestradiol in the laboratory. The acquired data was analysed statistically using SPSS.

Results: 61% of the subjects were suffering from female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Total testosterone levels had a negative correlation with scores in the domain of desire (r=−0.108, P=0.029), DHEAS levels were positively correlated with scores in the domain of pain (r=0.113, P=0.022), and the free estradiol index (FEI) was positively correlated with scores in the domain of pain (r=0.115, P=0.020). Satisfaction with marital relationship had a significant positive correlation with total testosterone levels (r=0.131, P=0.008) and the free androgen index (FAI) (r=0.100, P=0.044). In examining the correlation between FSFI scores and hormone levels, multiple regression analysis showed that serum levels of total testosterone and free androgen index were predicting factors in, respectively, the domain of lubrication (P=0.042) and satisfaction (P=0.021).

Conclusion: Androgenic hormones can affect certain aspects of sexual function in post-menopausal women. This subject area, however, requires further investigation.