Testosterone levels were also higher in women who had ever experienced a same-sex relationship and reported solitary sexual activity (masturbation) more frequently.

Until now, testosterone has commonly been regarded as the biological driver of sexual desire in men, This finding provides inconclusive evidence about its role in women.

“There’s a sparsity of population-level data on the differences between men and women in the relationship between testosterone and sexual function, attitudes, and behavior,” says Wendy Macdowall from LSHTM.

Researchers also measured a range of sexual behaviors including different practices in the four weeks before the interview, including frequency of masturbation, and the number/type of partners, etc over the past five years/a lifetimes.

Participants who had at least one sexual partner in the year before the interview were asked about problems with sexual function, such as lacking interest in having sex and having trouble getting or keeping an erection.

There was a stronger link for women than for men between higher testosterone levels and solitary sexual activity as opposed to with a partner.

The authors suggest this could be related to the different meanings and motivations women attach to solitary and partnered sex.

This finding confirms that differences between men and women need to be understood by examining them in the context of social as well as hormonal influences on sexual function and behavior .

Testosterone’s marked link with masturbation among women, in the absence of an observed link with aspects of heterosexual partnered sex, may be seen as consistent with the notion of a stronger moderating effect of social factors on hormonal influences on women’s behavior.

Source: Medindia