Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Sexual Health
Sexuality is a big part of being human. Love, affection and sexual intimacy all play a role in healthy relationships. They also contribute to your sense of well-being. A number of disorders can affect the ability to have or enjoy sex in both men and women.
Factors that can affect sexual health include:
- Fear of unplanned pregnancy
- Concerns about infertility
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
- Chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease
- Medicines that affect sexual desire or performance
It sits within Women, Men, Wellness and Lifestyle, Sexual Health Issues, Female Reproductive System and Male Reproductive System.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Sexual Health
1,388 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Retrospective Cohort Study of Symptoms and Quality of Life in Women With Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause.Mucosa Innovations, S.L.
- Androgen Receptor, Implications for Health and Wellbeing: Natural History Study of Individuals With Androgen InsensitivityEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Community Health Workers And MHealth to ImProve Viral Suppression Plus (CHAMPS+)Columbia University
- Effectiveness of A Mindfulness-centered Stress Management AI Chatbot to Reduce Stress and Enhance Mental Health Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in ChinaThe University of Hong Kong
- Reducing Stigma and Building Employability Skills for Young People With HIV in ZambiaUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Screen2Prevent (S2P)Westat
Research already completed
- SAPLAI : Assessing the faiSAbility of a Peer-to-peer Contraceptive Education Program on Social Networks Aimed at 15- to 19-year-old High School Students in GuAdeloupe and La RéunIonCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion
- The Effect of HPV Education Provided to Women on Their Knowledge Levels, HPV Screening, and Vaccination UptakeUfuk University
- Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfers to Increase Retention in PMTCT Services in Akwa Ibom State, NigeriaUniversity of California, San Francisco
- SmartSteps: A Context-Aware, PrEP Adherence Intervention for Individuals With Substance Use DisorderBrigham and Women's Hospital
- Intradialytic Versus Home-Based Exercise in Female Hemodialysis PatientsTanta University
- Healthcare Provider Human Papillomavirus Education and Professional Skills InterventionUniversity of Texas, El Paso
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Sexual HealthMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- Estrogen Levels TestNational Library of Medicine
- Testosterone Levels TestNational Library of Medicine
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Sexual Health. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Sexual Health, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.