Testosterone is often framed as a male hormone, but it plays a measurable role in female libido, produced in smaller amounts by the ovaries and adrenal glands throughout life.
Testosterone levels in women decline gradually from the mid-twenties onward, well before menopause, and this decline has been linked in clinical research to reduced spontaneous sexual desire in some women.
This is distinct from estrogen-related changes, which primarily affect lubrication and tissue sensitivity. Testosterone-related changes more often affect the frequency of spontaneous desire itself.
Testosterone therapy for women exists and is used clinically in select cases, but requires medical supervision and monitoring, since appropriate dosing for women differs significantly from male dosing and carries different risk considerations.
Anyone noticing a marked drop in spontaneous desire, particularly alongside other symptoms like fatigue, is better served raising it directly with a doctor than attributing it to stress alone.