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FRIDAY, July 26, 2019 (HealthDay News) — For postmenopausal women with low sexual desire causing distress, testosterone is an effective treatment, with a preference for nonoral administration, according to a review published online July 25 in the The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Rakibul M. Islam, Ph.D., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the literature to assess potential benefits and risks of testosterone for women. Data were included from 46 reports of 36 randomized controlled trials with 8,480 participants.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that compared with placebo or a comparator, testosterone significantly increased sexual function, including satisfactory sexual event frequency (mean difference, 0.85; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.52 to 1.18), sexual desire (standardized mean difference, 0.36; 95 percent CI, 0.22 to 0.50), pleasure (mean difference, 6.86; 95 percent CI, 5.19 to 8.52), arousal (standardized mean difference, 0.28; 95 percent CI, 0.21 to 0.35), orgasm (standardized mean difference, 0.25; 95 percent CI, 0.18 to 0.32), responsiveness (standardized mean difference, 0.28; 95 percent CI, 0.21 to 0.35), and self-image (mean difference, 5.64; 95 percent CI, 4.03 to 7.26); reductions were seen in sexual concerns (mean difference, 8.99; 95 percent CI, 6.90 to 11.08) and distress (standardized mean difference, \u22120.27; 95 percent CI, \u22120.36 to \u22120.17) in postmenopausal women. When testosterone was administered orally, but not when administered nonorally, there was a significant increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and reductions in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. There was an overall increase in weight with testosterone treatment; no effect was reported on body composition, musculoskeletal variables, or cognitive measures.<\/p>\n
“Our comprehensive systematic review provides robust support for a trial of testosterone treatment, using a dose appropriate for women, when clinically indicated in postmenopausal women,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n
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