A study of possible associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor 2 gene and female sexual desire.
BACKGROUND
Female sexual desire and arousal problems have been shown to have a heritable component of moderate size. Previous molecular genetic studies on sexual desire have mainly focused on genes associated with neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that hormones with more specific functions concerning sexuality could have an impact on sexual desire and arousal.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible effects of 17 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in estrogen receptor genes on female sexual desire and subjective and genital arousal (lubrication). Based on previous research, we hypothesized that ESR1 and ESR2 are relevant genes that contribute to female sexual desire and arousal.


METHODS
The desire, arousal, and lubrication subdomains of the Female Sexual Function Index self-report questionnaire were used.


METHODS
The present study involved 2,448 female twins and their sisters aged 18-49 who had submitted saliva samples for genotyping. The participants were a subset from a large-scale, population-based sample.


RESULTS
We found nominally significant main effects on sexual desire for three ESR2 -linked SNPs when controlled for anxiety, suggesting that individuals homozygous for the G allele of the rs1271572 SNP, and the A allele of the rs4986938 and rs928554 SNPs had lower levels of sexual desire. The rs4986938 SNP also had a nominally significant effect on lubrication. No effects for any of the SNPs on subjective arousal could be detected.


CONCLUSIONS
The number of nominally significant results for SNPs in the ESR2 gene before correcting for multiple testing suggests that further studies on the possible influence of this gene on interindividual variation in female sexual functioning are warranted. In contrast, no support for an involvement of ESR1 was obtained. Our results should be interpreted with caution until replicated in independent, large samples.
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
Annika
A
Gunst
Patrick
P
Jern
Lars
L
Westberg
Ada
A
Johansson
Benny
B
Salo
Andrea
A
Burri
Tim
T
Spector
Elias
E
Eriksson
N Kenneth
NK
Sandnabba
Pekka
P
Santtila
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007989:Libido / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D019529:Sexuality / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014427:Twins; D016387:Women's Health
D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta
ESR1; ESR2; Estrogen Receptor Gene; Female Sexual Desire and Arousal; SNP; Single Nucleotide Polymorphism