Waist-to-hip ratio is positively associated with bioavailable testosterone but negatively associated with sexual desire in healthy premenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE

We examined whether high waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in women is a biomarker for increased testosterone (T) and higher levels of sexual desire.

METHODS

Participants were 99 healthy nonobese premenopausal women. Trait levels of mean bioavailable T were estimated from three saliva samples collected at 8:00 am, 9:30 am, and 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, controlling for phase of the menstrual cycle. Sexual desire was measured with the Sexual Desire Inventory.

RESULTS

WHR was positively, although moderately, correlated with bioavailable T. WHR, but not T, was negatively correlated with level of sexual desire.

CONCLUSIONS

These results confirm that the positive association between WHR and androgens seen in clinical populations also exists in the general population of healthy adult women. However, the relationship may not be strong enough in healthy women for WHR to serve as a useful biomarker of androgen levels in sexuality studies, especially given its association with other, perhaps negatively valued, morphologic attributes.