Menopause linked to sexual dysfunction

My friend who is single and is approaching her forty fifth birthday thinks that she is already undergoing menopausal stage. She is engaged but she intimated that she hardly feel sexually aroused when her boyfriend and she are into intimate moments.

So I was happy to find this study.


Menopausal women twice as likely to report problems, study finds

NEW YORK - Women who have particularly low levels of the hormone DHEA during menopause may be more likely to have sexual dysfunction, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that among more than 300 women they followed for 3 years, sexual dysfunction became more common as women progressed through menopause. Postmenopausal women were more than twice as likely as premenopausal women to report problems like lack of interest in sex, pain or difficulty reaching orgasm.

But there was also evidence that other factors contributed to sexual dysfunction, including the women’s levels of DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone. Women with relatively low blood levels of the hormone were 59 percent more likely to report sexual problems than those with high levels.
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Dr. Clarisa R. Gracia and colleagues report their findings in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

DHEA is a hormone produced mainly by the adrenal gland that acts as a precursor to testosterone and estrogen. The body’s DHEA production peaks in young adulthood and gradually declines with age; because of this, supplements of synthetic DHEA are widely marketed as an anti-aging panacea.

However, the current findings do not mean that women with sexual dysfunction should turn to the supplements, as there’s not yet any evidence that they’d help, according to the study authors.

“A randomized controlled trial assessing the safety and efficacy of (DHEA) is needed to support its use for the treatment of sexual dysfunction,” Gracia and colleagues write.

The study included 311 women who were between the ages of 35 and 47 at the outset. Once a year, the researchers took blood samples from the women to measure various hormone concentrations. They also questioned the women about their health, menstrual cycles and sex lives.

Overall, Gracia’s team found, one-third of the women had some degree of sexual dysfunction by the end of the 3-year study period.

menopause,
women