Lack of Evidence for a Relationship Between Salivary CRP and Women's Sexual Desire: An Investigation Across Clinical and Healthy Samples

Background: Inflammation has been linked to a variety of mental and physical health outcomes that disproportionately impact women, and which can impair sexual function; thus, there is reason to expect a link between inflammation and women's sexual functioning.

Aim: To test the hypothesis that higher concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), a general biomarker of inflammation, would predict women's lower sexual desire.

Method: As 2 independent research teams, we conducted 3 separate studies (total n = 405) that assessed salivary CRP and various measurements of sexual desire in different women populations.

Outcomes: Female Sexual Function Index, Sexual Desire Inventory-2, Decreased Sexual Desire Screener, and Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory.

Results: Regardless of the way sexual desire was measured (e.g., state vs trait; general desire vs. desire functioning) and the population sampled (i.e., healthy vs. clinically diagnosed with sexual dysfunction), all the studies revealed null results.

Clinical implications: While exploratory, the convergence of these null results across studies and researchers suggests that if there is an association between inflammation and women's sexual desire, it is likely very subtle.

Strengths & limitations: Across 2 independent research teams, 3 unrelated studies, and various measurements of sexual desire, results were consistent. These points lend to the generalizability of the results. However, study designs were cross-sectional.

Conclusions: Future research may reveal (i) a non-linear threshold effect, such that inflammation does not begin to impact women's sexual desire until it is at a high level, (ii) inflammatory biomarkers other than CRP might be more sensitive in detecting associations between inflammation and desire, should they exist, or (iii) the mechanisms underlying sexual dysfunction may differ between sexes. Clephane K, et al. Lack of Evidence for a Relationship Between Salivary CRP and Women's Sexual Desire: An Investigation Across Clinical and Healthy Samples. J Sex Med 2022;19:745-760.