Placebo Helps Improve Sexual Satisfaction In Women, Study Finds

Women who took a placebo during a clinical trial measuring sexual satisfaction experienced improvements in symptoms such as low sex drive, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, USA Today reports. The findings suggests that simply by taking action or feeling more hopeful about their sex lives, the women experienced improved satisfaction, the authors said.

Researchers at the University of Texas-Austin Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory used data collected during a clinical trial to test the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis in women. Of 50 women taking a placebo, one-third experienced more satisfying sex over a 12-week period in which they met with clinicians and completed questionnaires about their symptoms. The women involved in the study were in committed, stable relationships, and many were married.

Cindy Meston, a UTA psychology professor and co-author of the study, said decreased sex drive is normal for women in long-term relationships. Some women taking the placebo might have experienced more satisfaction because the trial gave them hope for improvement or because increased sexual activity led to more intimacy with their partners, Meston noted.

Measuring female sexual dysfunction and satisfaction can be difficult because it is largely based on a woman's own observations, Meston said. Andrea Bradford, co-author of the study, said, "Sexual dysfunction is, in a way, what a woman says it is." She said, "If she perceives herself to have low desire or difficulty having an orgasm, that's what we take," adding, "Changing how you approach the problem might in itself make a big difference" (Klinck, USA Today, 11/15).


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