Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom; Andrology Unit, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy; School of Community-Based Medicine, The University of Manchester, Hope Hospital, Salford M6 8, United Kingdom; Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Andrology, Albert Szent-Gyorgy Medical University, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary; Division of Gerontology and Geriatrics and Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Experimental Medicine, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Department of Medicine, Santiago de Compostela University, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, CIBER de Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutricion (CB06/03), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Andrology Research Unit, Developmental and Regenerative Biomedicine Research Group, Manchester Royal Infirmary, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom; Reproductive Medicine Center, Malmö University Hospital, University of Lund, 221 00 Lund, Sweden; Department of Endocrinology, Royal Free and University College Hospital Medical School, Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom; Department of Reproductive Biology, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, London SW7, United Kingdom; Department of Andrology and Reproductive Endocrinology, Medical University of Łódź, 90-419 Łódź, Poland; Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology and Oncology, Laval University, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6; Department of Human Nutritio, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom; Andrology Unit, United Laboratories of Tartu University Clinics, 50406 Tartu, Estonia; and Department of Andrology and Endocrinology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Limited data are available exploring the associations between sex hormones, multiple domains of sexual functioning, and sexual function-related distress in nonpatient samples in Europe.
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between serum testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and sexual function in a multicenter population-based study of aging in men.
Using stratified random sampling, 2838 men aged 40-79 yr completed the European Male Ageing Study-Sexual Function Questionnaire and provided a blood sample for hormone measurements. T, E2, and DHT were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
We conducted a community-based population survey in eight European centers.
Self-reported sexual function (overall sexual function, sexual function-related distress, erectile dysfunction, masturbation) was measured.
Total and free T, but not E2 or DHT, was associated with overall sexual function in middle-aged and older men. E2 was the only hormone associated with sexual function-related distress such that higher levels were related to greater distress. Free T levels were associated with masturbation frequency and erectile dysfunction in the fully adjusted models, such that higher T was associated with less dysfunction and greater frequency. Moreover, there was a T threshold for the relationship between total T, sexual function, and erectile dysfunction. At T concentrations of 8 nmol/liter or less, T was associated with worse sexual functioning, whereas at T levels over 8 nmol/liter, the relationship came to a plateau.
These findings suggest that different hormonal mechanisms may regulate sexual functioning (T) vs. the psychological aspects (E2) of male sexual behavior. Moreover, there was a T threshold for overall sexual function such that at levels greater than 8 nmol/liter the relationship between T and sexual function did not become stronger.
Written by:
O'Connor DB, Lee DM, Corona G, Forti G, Tajar A, O'Neill TW, Pendleton N, Bartfai G, Boonen S, Casanueva FF, Finn JD, Giwercman A, Han TS, Huhtaniemi IT, Kula K, Labrie F, Lean ME, Punab M, Silman AJ, Vanderschueren D, Wu FC. Are you the author?
Reference: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Aug 17. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-2216
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21849522
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