While many women may be concerned with estrogen levels as they age, testosterone also plays an important role in women's health. Specific glands and tissue in your body are responsible for producing testosterone. Overproduction or underproduction of the hormone can result in several symptoms. If you're concerned about your testosterone level, a visit with your health care provider is in order.
Significance
Androgens, or male sex hormones, are produced by both men and women. Testosterone is required for the manufacture of estrogen in your body; it is the basic structure for estrogen production in both men and women. In women, the ovaries convert testosterone to estrogen.
Types
Women normally produce testosterone in both the ovaries and adrenal glands. In younger women, testosterone is created mainly in the ovaries, which also produce estrogen and progesterone--the female sex hormones. To a lesser extent, testosterone is produced by body fat and skin during the conversion of another hormone produced in the adrenal glands called dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA.
Functions
In addition to being a building block for estrogen, testosterone also plays a part in female fertility. Circulating blood levels of testosterone are highest in mid-cycle, the time conception is most likely to result from sexual activity. The testosterone acts as a natural way of enhancing females' interest in sex.
Considerations
As women age, testosterone production in the ovaries and adrenal gland is gradually reduced. If your ovaries have been surgically removed, you may experience an almost immediate drop of 40 to 50 percent in circulating blood testosterone. The reduction of testosterone after surgical removal of your ovaries or after menopause can result in a lowered libido and lack of interest in sexual activity.
Expert Insight
It's difficult to accurately measure testosterone levels, because the methods used are fairly imprecise. If your testosterone levels are low, an accurate reading becomes even more challenging. Careful timing of testing is important; blood drawn at the wrong time of day or during the wrong time in your monthly cycle can produce misleading results. The Women's Health Program at Monash University in Australia notes that lower limits of normal testosterone in women have not been well-established. This makes it difficult to tell whether you might benefit from testosterone therapy.
Mary Gallenberg, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic notes that testosterone supplementation has been effective for women who have low sex drive. She cautions, however, that it is not appropriate for postmenopausal women who have a history of cardiovascular or liver disease, or breast or uterine cancer. And it must be clearly demonstrated that your testosterone levels are low before this treatment is considered.
