MHC-correlated odour preferences in humans and the use of oral contraceptives
Open accessAbstract
Previous studies in animals and humans show that genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) influence individual odours and that females often prefer odour of MHC-dissimilar males, perhaps to increase offspring heterozygosity or reduce inbreeding. Women using oral hormonal contraceptives have been reported to have the opposite preference, raising the possibility that oral contraceptives alter female preference towards MHC similarity, with possible fertility costs. Here we test directly whether contraceptive pill use alters odour preferences using a longitudinal design in which women were tested before and after initiating pill use; a control group of non-users were tested with a comparable interval between test sessions. In contrast to some previous studies, there was no significant difference in ratings between odours of MHC-dissimilar and MHC-similar men among women during the follicular cycle phase. However, single women preferred odours of MHC-similar men, while women in relationships preferred odours of MHC-dissimilar men, a result consistent with studies in other species, suggesting that paired females may seek to improve offspring quality through extra-pair partnerships. Across tests, we found a significant preference shift towards MHC similarity associated with pill use, which was not evident in the control group. If odour plays a role in human mate choice, our results suggest that contraceptive pill use could disrupt disassortative mate preferences.
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Hormonal contraception (HC) use alters women's pair-bonding behavior.
“Importantly, HC use alters women's pair-bonding behavior, evident in decreased attractiveness ratings of masculine faces (Little et al., 2013), reduced neural response to the expectation of erotic stimuli (Abler et al., 2013), a preference shift towards olfactory cues of genetic similarity (Roberts et al., 2008) and increased sexual jealousy (Geary et al., 2001).”
From Hormonal contraceptives suppress oxytocin-induced brain reward responses to the partner’s face (2016) · cites this paper as Roberts et al., 2008
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- Authors
- Roberts, S. C., Gosling, L. M., Carter, V., & Petrie, M.
- Affiliations
- Newcastle University (GB)
- National Blood ServiceHolland Drive, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4NQ, UK
- Corresponding author
- Roberts, S. Craig
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2008-08-12
- Volume
- 275
- Issue
- 1652
- Pages
- 2715-2722
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC2605820
- OpenAlex
- W2145478305
- Cited by
- 194
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 7.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Stirling Online Research Repository (University of Stirling) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- major histocompatibility complex, odour preference, oral contraceptives, mate choice, disassortative mating, extra-pair paternity, female fertility, human olfaction
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Choice Behavior, Contraceptives, Oral, England, Female, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Major Histocompatibility Complex, Male, Odorants
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