[marianco]

Originally Posted by The_Skeptic

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- While there's a statistical link between men's sex drive and their testosterone levels, in practice there's little meaningful difference in testosterone levels between men with low libido and those with high libido, researchers report.

Dr. Thomas G. Travison, from the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Massachusetts, and his associates evaluated data from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, and report their findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Between 1987 and 1989, a total of 1,632 men ages 40 to 70 years were enrolled in the study. They were assessed at the outset and two more times approximately 9 and 15 years later, when 922 and 623 men, respectively, were available.

At each time point, the men completed a self-administered questionnaire asking about the frequency of sexual desire and of sexual thoughts and fantasies, and their hormone levels were measured.

Men with scores of less than 7 points out of a total 14 were classified as having a low libido, which included 19 percent of men at the start of the study, 23 percent after 9 years, and 28 percent at 15 years.

Travison's team reports that, overall, libido was significantly associated with testosterone levels. However, the difference in testosterone levels between participants with low libido and those with high libido was small and "inconsequential."

Looked at the other way, a low libido did not mean a man was particularly likely to have low levels of testosterone.

Therefore, the researchers conclude that if a man complains of reduced libido, it cannot always be interpreted as a sign of testosterone deficiency.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/08/01...eut/index.html

A problem in scientific studies is that they tend to focus on only one factor. In a condition as complex as libido, where numerous factors are in play, incomplete answers are the outcome, which can easily lead to misinterpretations.

The conclusion of the study is that low libido cannot be intepreted solely as a sign of testosterone deficiency.

The misinterpretation that is easily made is that testosterone treatment should not be considered when one has low libido.

I wish the researchers had measured more factors than just testosterone so that they could have teased out the circumstances when low testosterone correlates with low libido out of the confounding factors that were most likely present (e.g. low thyroid, adrenal fatigue, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. etc.). These confounding factors undoubtedly masked any correlation there was between low testosterone and low libido.

If anything, the researches could have at least stated the possible confounding factors and weaknesses in their study - as good research generally does - rather than stand pat on a conclusion which can be so easily misinterpreted and sensationalized.