Testosterone therapy won’t fix a sexless marriage, study suggests

There are no shortcuts to good sex.

Despite a long-held theory among men that having more testosterone equates to a stronger sex drive, evidence of its impact on sexual performance is weak, according to a new study.

There are more than 10 million men in the US living with erectile dysfunction – and many more who complain that they suffer from a disproportionately low libido that is contributing to their sexless marriage.

When pills, exercise, and therapy don’t work, many desperate singles and married couples have turned to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to fix their poor sex lives.

TRT was created as a treatment for men who have been diagnosed with testosterone deficiency or hypogonadism. Regular artificial testosterone injections are said to help patients improve libido, sexual function, fertility and mood.

On Reddit, some 178,000 users have joined the /r/Testosterone forum to read and discuss the benefits and side effects of TRT. Meanwhile, on the /r/DeadBedrooms subReddit — where 485,000 frustrated and desperate users go to commiserate about their sexless relationships — countless TRT proponents champion the life-changing treatment that brought their hearts together. broken.

However, an international team of researchers led by the University of California, Santa Barbara, has published a new study that reveals the hairy truth behind testosterone’s role in sexual reproduction.

Unfortunately, they found no significant relationship between fluctuations in testosterone levels and male libido, especially in long-term relationships.

The finding “argues against the usefulness of prescription testosterone for the treatment of low sexual desire in men who have testosterone concentrations within the normal range,” the researchers wrote.

The study involved 41 men aged 18 to 26, single or partnered, who had testosterone levels in the “normal” range. During the 31-day testing period, participants submitted daily saliva samples and self-reported questionnaires about their sexual desires and dating attempts.

Their data showed that only single men produced higher testosterone on days they reported an interaction with a potential partner, suggesting the body is preparing for a potential mate — and competition from other men. Previous animal research shows that both birds and primates produce high levels of testosterone when they are in competition with other males.

However, husbands and boyfriends who had regular interactions with their wives and girlfriends during the test period demonstrated no such changes in their testosterone levels, despite experiencing typical male arousal.

“Testosterone and cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in single versus partnered men,” the researchers noted. However, they also noted “tendencies toward higher sexual desire in male partners.”

Their analysis showed that partnered men have just as much, if not more, sex drive than single men — and they only need the standard dose of testosterone to hear it.

“These findings corroborate previous research suggesting that male sexual desire requires only a threshold amount of baseline testosterone above which changes in testosterone do not reliably affect desire,” the researchers concluded.