Dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol as markers of HPA axis dysregulation in women with low sexual desire

PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY

卷:104

Article

Basson, Rosemary¹  O'Loughlin, Julia I.²  Weinberg, Joanne³  Young, Allan H.⁴  Bodnar, Tamara³  Brotto, Lori A.⁵ 

[1] Univ British Columbia, Dept Psychiat, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada

[2] Univ British Columbia, Dept Counselling Psychol, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

[3] Univ British Columbia, Dept Cellular & Physiol Sci, 2350 Hlth Sci Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada

[4] Kings Coll London, Ctr Affect Disorders, Dept Psychol Med, PO72,De Crespigny Pk,Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, England

[5] Univ British Columbia, Dept Obstet & Gynaecol, 2775 Laurel St,6th Floor, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada

关键词: Dehydroepiandrosterone;    Cortisol;    Sexual dysfunction;    Sexual desire;    Hypoactive sexual desire disorder;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.001

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Previous research has found lower serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or its sulfated form, DHEA-S, in women diagnosed with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD). Given that DHEA and DHEA-S have multiple direct actions on the brain as well as anti-glucocorticoid properties, it is possible that lower levels of DHEA directly impact women's sexual functioning. To date, the significance of the lower DHEA levels remains unclear. To our knowledge, there has been no empirical study of stress hormones as markers of HPA dysregulation in women with HSDD. To attend to this gap, the present study utilized several measures of HPA axis function - morning and evening cortisol and DHEA, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal cortisol slope, and cortisol:DHEA ratio - and examined their relationship with sexual functioning in N = 275 women with (n = 137) and without (n = 138) HSDD. Results demonstrated multiple hormonal markers of HPA dysregulation in women diagnosed with HSDD compared to control participants, specifically, lower AM cortisol and AM DHEA levels, a flatter diurnal cortisol slope, and a lower CAR. Overall, results of the present study indicate that persistently low sexual desire in women is associated with HPA axis dysregulation, with both cortisol and DHEA alterations potentially detrimental to sexual desire.

【 授权许可】

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