Non-randomised trial, 2023
Do hormones affect sexual desire?
Sexual attraction varied in the first cycle with peaks around ovulation, but not in the second cycle. Hormone levels were not consistently linked to sexual attraction, and even very high estradiol levels during fertility treatment did not change sexual attraction.
What they did
Measured estradiol, progesterone, testosterone at four timepoints per cycle in 88 naturally cycling women and 44 undergoing IVF. Assessed sexual attraction to photographs. Women followed across two cycles, IVF patients twice during ovarian stimulation.
What they found
In the first cycle, sexual attraction to male bodies, couples kissing, and intercourse showed significant peaks during the preovulatory phase (p ≤ 0.001). This pattern did not repeat in the second cycle. No consistent associations were found between hormone levels and sexual attraction in either cycle. In IVF patients, sexual attraction did not change despite estradiol levels increasing from 122.0 to 11,746.0 pmol/l (average 3,553.9 pmol/l).
What it means for you
Hormones may not directly control women's sexual attraction to visual stimuli, or the relationship is more complex than previously thought. The main limitations are inconsistent findings between cycles, moderate sample size, and testing only response to photographs rather than real-world scenarios.
88
naturally cycling women in first cycle
11,746
peak estradiol in IVF patients (pmol/l)
p ≤ 0.001
preovulatory peak significance in first cycle
About the study
- Original title
- Sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli in association with steroid hormones across menstrual cycles and fertility treatment
- Authors
- Schön V, Hengartner MP, Tronci E et al.
- Journal
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Year
- 2023
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- Participants
- 88
- What was tested
- IVF ovarian stimulation (for the fertility treatment group)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106060
Original abstract
Background: Steroid hormones (i.e., estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone) are considered to play a crucial role in the regulation of women's sexual desire and sexual attraction to sexual stimuli throughout the menstrual cycle. However, the literature is inconsistent, and methodologically sound studies on the relationship between steroid hormones and women's sexual attraction are rare. Methods: This prospective longitudinal multisite study examined estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone serum levels in association with sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli in naturally cycling women and in women undergoing fertility treatment (in vitro fertilization, IVF). Across ovarian stimulation of fertility treatment, estradiol reaches supraphysiological levels, while other ovarian hormones remain nearly stable. Ovarian stimulation hence offers a unique quasi-experimental model to study concentration-dependent effects of estradiol. Hormonal parameters and sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli assessed with computerized visual analogue scales were collected at four time points per cycle, i.e., during the menstrual, preovulatory, mid-luteal, and premenstrual phases, across two consecutive menstrual cycles (n = 88 and n = 68 for the first and second cycle, respectively). Women undergoing fertility treatment (n = 44) were assessed twice, at the beginning and at the end of ovarian stimulation. Sexually explicit photographs served as visual sexual stimuli. Results: In naturally cycling women, sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli did not vary consistently across two consecutive menstrual cycles. While in the first menstrual cycle sexual attraction to male bodies, couples kissing, and at intercourse varied significantly with a peak in the preovulatory phase, (all p ≤ 0.001), there was no significant variability across the second cycle. Univariable and multivariable models evaluating repeated cross-sectional relationships and intraindividual change scores revealed no consistent associations between estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone and sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli throughout both menstrual cycles. Also, no significant association with any hormone was found when the data from both menstrual cycles were combined. In women undergoing ovarian stimulation of IVF, sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli did not vary over time and was not associated with estradiol levels despite intraindividual changes in estradiol levels from 122.0 to 11,746.0 pmol/l with a mean (SD) of 3553.9 (2472.4) pmol/l. Conclusions: These results imply that neither physiological levels of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone in naturally cycling women nor supraphysiological levels of estradiol due to ovarian stimulation exert any relevant effect on women's sexual attraction to visual sexual stimuli.
Reproduced under CC-BY.