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Women's desire for sex is far more complex that researchers had thought.

A new study has found that hormones do not drive desire.

Instead, a woman's relationship satisfaction and other psychosocial factors may outweigh any hormonal effects, they say.

Hormones play less of a role than previously thought, researchers found. They say relationship satisfaction and psychosocial factors outweigh hormones in menopausal women.

The new study conducted in Michigan and six other clinical sites across the country found levels of testosterone and other naturally-occurring reproductive hormones play a limited role in driving menopausal women's sexual function. 

While testosterone is the main sex hormone in men, women also have small amounts of it, as ovaries naturally produce testosterone. 

Researchers wanted to find out exactly what effect is had on sexual function as women go through menopause.

'While levels of testosterone and other reproductive hormones were linked to women's feelings of sexual desire, our large-scale study suggests psychosocial factors influence many aspects of sexual function,' said John Randolph of the University of Michigan Medical School, who led the study in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 

'A woman's emotional well-being and quality of her intimate relationship are tremendously important contributors to sexual health.'

Researchers examined data from 3,302 women who participated in the ongoing Study of Women's Health across the Nation (SWAN) to analyze the relationship between reproductive hormones and sexual function during the menopausal transition. 

Participants were asked about their desire for sex and sexual activity. 

The women also had their blood drawn to measure levels of testosterone and other reproductive hormones including dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), which the body can convert into testosterone or a form of estrogen called estradiol, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). 

The body's levels of FSH naturally rise when a women experiences menopause.

Researchers found women who naturally had higher levels of testosterone reported feeling sexual desire more frequently than women with low levels. 

Researchers set out to examine the role testosterone and other hormones play in sexual function as women go through menopause.

Women who had high levels of DHEAS - a precursor to testosterone - also tended to feel desire more often than women with low levels.

The associations between hormone levels and sexual function remained fairly subtle, Randolph said. 

He noted that women who reported having fewer sad moods and higher levels of satisfaction in their relationships also reported better sexual function.

'Women's relationships and day-to-day reality are intricately linked to sexual function,' Randolph says.

'Our findings suggest menopausal women who are dissatisfied with their sexual function should consider whether these non-hormonal factors are playing a role when discussing treatment with a qualified health care provider.'