Men's sexual response to female partner's intranasal oxytocin administration for hypoactive sexual desire disorder: an open prospective cohort study

Objective To study sexual function, quality of life, and depression in men, whose female partners are undergoing double-blind placebo-controlled randomized treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Design Open prospective cohort study of 22 weeks. Setting Academic medical center. Patient(s) Male partners of 30 premenopausal and postmenopausal women with HSDD. Intervention(s) Baseline, 3-month, and 5-month assessment (for 8 weeks each) of male response to female partner's use of oxytocin nasal spray (32 IE) and placebo within 50 minutes before sexual intercourse. Main Outcome Measure(s) Primary outcome parameters were Sexual Life Quality Questionnaire-Male, Sexual Activity Record, Partner Performance Questionnaire, and Hamilton Depression Scale. Result(s) Male Sexual Life Quality questionnaire improved significantly from −7.4 ± 9.9 at baseline to 8.2 ± 12 with female partners' treatment with oxytocin nasal spray and to 10.8 ± 13.8 with placebo. Frequency of intercourse improved slightly but not significantly from 6.3 ± 3.9 at baseline to 7.3 ± 4 with female oxytocin therapy, but not with placebo. Male desire and arousal remained stable throughout the study period. Evaluation of female partners' performance by men improved significantly from 8.9 ± 2.8 at baseline to 10.6 ± 2.2 with oxytocin and to 11.2 ± 2.6 with placebo. Conclusion(s) Female treatment with either oxytocin or placebo for HSDD significantly improves male sexual quality of life and evaluation of female partner's sexual performance with no difference between oxytocin and placebo on any outcome parameters. A nonsignificant improvement was seen in the frequency of intercourse, male arousal, desire, satisfaction, and Hamilton depression scale. Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT02229721.