Times of India
24 April 2010
New York, NY USA

Many young women are reporting that they have a low sexual desire, with a new research blaming antidepressants and birth control pills for the problem.

Many young women have distress piled on top of the guilt about their lagging sex lives, according to a study by the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health.

And a 2008 research in Obstetrics and Gynecology magazine of 31,000 women age 18 and above found that in the 18 to 44 age group, one in 10 reported low libido, or hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

While dysfunctional relationships, stress and depression are thought to contribute to decreased sex drive, it’s often antidepressants or birth control pills that are the culprits.

The disorder is marked not just by lack of sexual desire but also by accompanying distress. “I think a lot of women are distressed out there and feel bad and think something is wrong with them,” the New York Daily News quoted Dr Carolyn Nemec, woman’s health specialist in the department of family medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, as telling ABCNews.com.

“The younger patients hear so much about menopause and a lot of these women — aged 18 to 30 — don’t feel they have a voice. We need to focus on them,” Nemec added.

A 2008 study from the journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology had found that nearly half of all women suffer from one sexual disorder or another.