TY - JOUR
T1 - (Not) talking about sex
T2 - a systematic comparison of sexual impairment in women with systemic sclerosis and other chronic disease samples.
AU - Knafo, Ruby
AU - Thombs, Brett D.
AU - Jewett, Lisa
AU - Hudson, Marie
AU - Wigley, Fred
AU - Haythornthwaite, Jennifer A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by the Scleroderma Foundation and the Scleroderma Research Foundation and grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 ARAR47219; R24AT003250) awarded to J.A.H. B.D.T. and M.H. are supported by New Investigator Awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Établissement de Jeunes Chercheurs awards from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé Québec.
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Sexual impairment in women with SSc has received little attention. The objective of this study was to compare levels of sexual impairment in women with SSc with samples of women with medical illnesses for which sexual impairment has been researched more extensively. METHODS: SSc patients completed the Sexual Relationships subscale of the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report (PAIS-SR). A systematic review was conducted to select comparison samples. Sexual Relationships subscale scores from SSc patients were compared with scores from comparison samples (breast or gynaecological cancer and HIV) using t-tests and Hedges's g to calculate effect sizes. RESULTS: Samples from 138 female SSc patients were analysed (28.3% diffuse; mean age 52.1 +/- 12.3 years; mean time since diagnosis 9.0 +/- 8.3 years). Women with dcSSc (6.1 +/- 4.2) reported significantly greater sexual impairment (P < 0.05) than those with lcSSc (4.4 +/- 4.2), three breast cancer samples (1.8 +/- 0.1, 3.4 +/- 3.9, 1.6 +/- 0.6) and two samples of HIV-positive female patients (4.4 +/- 3.8, 4.5 +/- 3.9). Scores in dcSSc were similar to one sample of HIV-positive women (5.8 +/- 4.1) and gynaecological cancer patients (7.3 +/- 4.3). Scores in lcSSc were significantly higher than two breast cancer samples, similar to one breast cancer sample and two HIV-positive samples, and significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in one HIV sample and gynaecological cancer. CONCLUSION: Women with SSc, particularly those with dcSSc, have high levels of sexual impairment compared with women with other chronic diseases, where sexual function has received greater attention. Further research is needed on sexual function among women with SSc.
AB - OBJECTIVE: Sexual impairment in women with SSc has received little attention. The objective of this study was to compare levels of sexual impairment in women with SSc with samples of women with medical illnesses for which sexual impairment has been researched more extensively. METHODS: SSc patients completed the Sexual Relationships subscale of the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report (PAIS-SR). A systematic review was conducted to select comparison samples. Sexual Relationships subscale scores from SSc patients were compared with scores from comparison samples (breast or gynaecological cancer and HIV) using t-tests and Hedges's g to calculate effect sizes. RESULTS: Samples from 138 female SSc patients were analysed (28.3% diffuse; mean age 52.1 +/- 12.3 years; mean time since diagnosis 9.0 +/- 8.3 years). Women with dcSSc (6.1 +/- 4.2) reported significantly greater sexual impairment (P < 0.05) than those with lcSSc (4.4 +/- 4.2), three breast cancer samples (1.8 +/- 0.1, 3.4 +/- 3.9, 1.6 +/- 0.6) and two samples of HIV-positive female patients (4.4 +/- 3.8, 4.5 +/- 3.9). Scores in dcSSc were similar to one sample of HIV-positive women (5.8 +/- 4.1) and gynaecological cancer patients (7.3 +/- 4.3). Scores in lcSSc were significantly higher than two breast cancer samples, similar to one breast cancer sample and two HIV-positive samples, and significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in one HIV sample and gynaecological cancer. CONCLUSION: Women with SSc, particularly those with dcSSc, have high levels of sexual impairment compared with women with other chronic diseases, where sexual function has received greater attention. Further research is needed on sexual function among women with SSc.
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U2 - 10.1093/rheumatology/kep240
DO - 10.1093/rheumatology/kep240
M3 - Review article
C2 - 19692458
AN - SCOPUS:70350749525
SN - 1462-0324
VL - 48
SP - 1300
EP - 1303
JO - Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
JF - Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
IS - 10
ER -