Male Testosterone Does Not Adapt to the Partner's Menstrual Cycle
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It has not yet been established whether men in heterosexual relationships adapt their hormone levels to their female partner's menstrual cycle to allocate reproductive resources to the period when the female is actually fertile.
AIM: This prospective observational study tested the hypothesis that some males have peaks in testosterone or acne (a possible biomarker for androgen activity) near their partners' ovulation, whereas other males display the opposite pattern.
METHODS: 48 couples supplied menstrual cycle data, male salivary samples, and a protocol of daily activities for 120 days. Daily saliva samples were analyzed for testosterone concentrations by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The main hypothesis was tested by analyzing whether each individual male's testosterone/acne response to ovulation (either an increase or a decrease in comparison to the individual's average levels) was stable over time. To do this, we analyzed the Spearman correlation between individually normalized periovulatory testosterone and acne during the first half of the study versus the second half of the study.
OUTCOMES: Correlation between each male individual's periovulatory testosterone and acne patterns during the first half of the study versus the second half of the study.
RESULTS: No predictability in the male individuals' testosterone (Spearman's rho = -0.018, P = .905) or acne (Spearman's rho = -0.036, P = .862) levels during ovulation was found.
CLINICAL TRANSLATION: The…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence.
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