Viagra improves sex for postmenopausal women

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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The findings come from a study led by Jennifer R. Berman, MD and Laura A. Berman PhD.

Pfizer Inc (maker of Viagra) funded the study which monitored 200 postmenopausal women with FSAD (female sexual arousal disorder).

100 women received Viagra while the other half were on a placebo. More women on Viagra (than the placebo) reported better sexual (more sexual) satisfaction. Some of the women on the placebo also reported an improvement (lower number than those on Viagra).

All the women who had hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) as well as FSAD reported no improvement at all.

The most common problem for women with FSAD is genital blood flow (which Viagra seems to be able to help). Women with HSDD have underlying emotional or relationship problems which lead to a reduction in sexual desire.

'Unresolved emotional or relational issues should be addressed before beginning medical therapies,' Berman her colleagues said (December issue of The Journal of Urology).

Those in the study included women who were postmenopausal (or had had a hysterectomy), aged from 30-71 (average age 51).

Two questions (asked after the women had taken the Viagra of Placebo) the team focussed on were:

1. After taking the study medication, the sensation/feeling in my genital (vagina, labia, clitoris) area during intercourse or stimulation seemed to be: (a) more than before, (b) less than before, or (c) unchanged.

2. After taking the study medication, intercourse and/or foreplay was (a) pleasant and satisfying; better than before taking the study medication; (b) unpleasant; worse than before the study medication; (c) unchanged; no difference; or (d) pleasant but still not like it used to be or I would like it to be.

Regarding Question 1 the results were:
Placebo patients: 44% reported an improvement
Viagra Patients: 57% reported an improvement

Regarding Question 2 the results were:
Placebo patients: 26% reported an improvement
Viagra patients: 42% reported an improvement

However, of the patients (on Viagra) with sexual arousal disorder who did not have HSDD 68% reported an improvement on the first question (eight times more than women without HSDD who were on the placebo).

In addition, of the patients (on Viagra) with sexual arousal disorder who did not have HSDD, 50% said there was an improvement in question 2 (11 times more than the non-HSDD women on the placebo).

The authors also said that women who respond to Viagra may need to have normal levels of oestrogen and testosterone. For many postmenopausal women, that may mean menopausal replacement therapy. In the present study, the women had normal hormone levels or were receiving menopausal replacement therapy.