Men with sex addiction may have higher oxytocin levels in their blood, a new study has found. Photo by César Perez Tapia, CC BY 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
Feb. 2 (UPI) — Men who experience sex addiction may have elevated levels of a hormone in their blood, a study published Wednesday by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found.
Blood samples collected from men diagnosed with sex addiction, or hypersexual disorder, had almost twice as much of the hormone oxytocin than those from men who had not been diagnosed with the condition, the data showed.
Higher levels of the hormone in the blood were linked with worse symptoms of the disorder, which is also known as compulsive sexual behavior disorder, the researchers said.
Men who completed therapy for the condition saw their oxytocin blood levels decline, according to the researchers.
“We discovered that men with compulsive sexual behavior disorder had higher oxytocin levels compared with healthy men,” study co-author Dr. Andreas Chatzittofis said in a press release.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy led to a reduction in both hypersexual behavior and oxytocin levels,” said Chatzittofis, a psychiatrist at the University of Cyprus Medical School in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Up to 10% of men in the United States experience sex addiction, or compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, regardless of negative consequences, recent research suggests.
Men make up about 60% of diagnosed cases of sex addiction nationally.
Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the brain’s hypothalamus, which regulates hormone levels, and is secreted by the pituitary gland, according to Chatzittofis and his colleagues.
The researchers analyzed the blood samples collected from 64 men diagnosed with hypersexual disorder and 38 healthy men and found the hypersexual men had higher levels of the hormone in their blood, they said.
Of the men diagnosed with hypersexual disorder, 30 went through a cognitive behavioral therapy program and saw a significant reduction in their oxytocin levels after treatment, the researchers said.
Based on their findings, “oxytocin plays an important role in sex addiction,” Chatzittofis said.
“[It] may be a potential drug target for future pharmacological treatment,” he said.