Posted on 01/04/2006 6:59:55 AM PST by Pyro7480
Libido Problems Linked to the Pill May Be Long-Term
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Women who take birth control pills might be at increased risk for a long-term loss of sexual desire, according to new research from a team at the Lahey Clinic in Boston.
"We have known for a long time that 30 to 40 percent of women on birth control pills have decreased libido," said study co-author Dr. Andre Guay, director of the Center for Sexual Function/Endocrinology at the clinic.
But his findings, published in the January issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, showed that lowered testosterone levels caused by use of birth control pills can persist for up to a year after a woman stops taking them. And that, in turn, may lower her sexual desire, along with her ability to get aroused and become lubricated.
Birth control pills decrease circulating levels of androgens, which modulate sexual functioning, Guay wrote in the report. In women, testosterone is made in the ovaries and in the adrenal glands. When a woman is on the pill, androgen production in the ovaries is inhibited and the production of a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) goes up. The combination leads to lower circulating levels of testosterone, Guay said.
Guay and his team studied 124 premenopausal women who had sexual health complaints for more than six months. Within the group of 124, they looked at three subgroups: those who had been on birth control pills for more than six months and kept taking it, those who had been on birth control pills for more than six months and stopped, and those who had never taken birth control pills.
The average ages in the groups were similar: 32, 33 and 36.
They did blood tests to measure production of SHBG, a protein made by the liver that binds to testosterone. "When you put someone on the birth control pill, you block a lot of the ovarian production [of testosterone]," Guay said. Levels of SHBG are high in women taking oral contraceptives and in women during their late stages of pregnancy.
The team found that the SHBG values in the women who continued using birth control pills were four times higher than those who never used it. And even though the SHBG values went down after women stopped using birth control pills, the levels in those who discontinued remained high compared to the levels of those who never used them.
Eleven women were followed for a year or longer after they stopped taking birth control pills, and at a mean length of about 11 months after quitting, their SHBG was about double the level of never-users.
"If that binding protein is still a bit elevated, you might have a decrease in libido that persists," Guay said.
"Beyond a year, we don't know [what happens]," said Guay. "The question is, does the birth control pill imprint on the body a signal to continue making this protein that attaches to the testosterone? If so, these women would have less testosterone."
"Right now, this is an observation," he added. "Now the question is, 'Does this mean that the women who have had been on birth control pills would have sexual dysfunction symptoms down the road?'"
"It's an observation no one else has made before and we are not sure of the clinical significance," he said.
Another expert called the findings "a lot of fuss about nothing."
"This is not a surprise," said Dr. Richard Spark, director of steroid research at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center. "I think people have known about this for years We've known that estrogen acts on the liver to stimulate SHBG production."
Based on the results, Spark said, he doesn't think women should be concerned.
I know a lot of people in our society are going to have trouble making a choice. What say you?
Ping!
I personally think it's a bunch of bunk. I don't put much stock in these studies any more. One day something is good for us and the next it's going to kill us. I say "eat, drink and be merry".
All I can say is...I'm glad I stopped taking birth control (after 9 years of taking it!)
Also linked to obesity, bitchiness and breast cancer...this wholly explains American women.
Especially with something as variable, subjective and personal as libido.
I wouldn't put too much stock in it, one way or the other.
I will add that I've been on the Pill since complications following the birth of my last child . . . and I haven't noticed any problems. But that's just me.
In other news, a study of people with kidney health complaints determined that the absence of a "diver's friend" is a major design flaw in modern automobiles, and a study of people with mental health complaints discovered that invisible beings sometimes whisper into people's ears.
This isn't something where it has gone one way and then the other. Other than "clearing your skin" and the reduced "risk" of bearing a child, there have been loads of negative side effects to "birth control" pills. The past studies concerning SHBG have been confirmed, and this just shows the longer term effects.
The real cause is being married to the same person for too long. This is just a good "scientific" excuse. ;-D
Normally, my gut reaction would say that this is a sinful behavior, but I'm not sure if the health reason negates that. Have you asked a priest or theologian about it?
"Similar", my left buttock. A four-year gap of ages, when the ages in question are in the runup to a major relevant development (menopause) makes this "study" worthless.
I'm afraid you're falling for junk science that seems to confirm your prejudices, just like the global-warming crowd.
Considering that I've already found two fatal flaws in just this summary, I'd say you're right. ;-)
Wedding cake has the same effect.;)
I took the pill quite awhile in the 70s and early 80s. When I stopped, I got pregnant within a month and had a perfectly healthy baby girl. Two years later I had healthy twins. And no "sexual side-effects". Everything must be evaluated for pros and cons and people have to make their own choices. But they must be given the truth.
Still not as effective at decreasing libido as wedding cake is.
If you detect a bias in my posts, then you would be correct. But I don't need this study to tell me that contraception, especially chemical contraception, is unnatural.
Prejudices don't change the fact that it is junk science.
I am prejudiced in favor of honesty. In the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, I probably would have declined to help a few iterations earlier than the rest of the community.
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