TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexual complaints, pelvic floor symptoms, and sexual distress in women over forty
AU - Knoepp, Leise R.
AU - Shippey, Stuart H.
AU - Chen, Chi Chiung Grace
AU - Cundiff, Geoffrey W.
AU - Derogatis, Leonard R.
AU - Handa, Victoria L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This is a planned secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study of women with prior sexual experience seeking benign gynecologic or urogynecologic care at five outpatient sites in metropolitan Baltimore, MD [8] . The primary study was designed to investigate whether pelvic floor symptoms, such as urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, are associated with female sexual complaints. The study was funded by the National Institute of Health and approved by an Institutional Review Board.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Introduction. The American Psychiatric Association recommends considering sexually related personal distress when assessing female sexual dysfunction. Currently, there is little data regarding the impact of sexual complaints on sexual distress. Aim. To investigate the association between sexual complaints and perceived sexual distress in a population of ambulatory adult women. Methods. Using the short forms of the Personal Experiences Questionnaire and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire, we assessed sexual complaints among 305 women seeking outpatient gynecologic care. Depressive symptoms were quantified using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) score. Sexual distress was measured using the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS). Using multivariable logistic regression, we compared sexual complaints between distressed and nondistressed women. Main Outcome Measures. Sexual distress, defined by FSDS score ≥15. Results. FSDS scores were available for 292/305 participants. Seventy-six (26%) scores reflected distress. Distressed women were more likely to be younger (55.2 ± 1.0 years vs. 56.7 ± 0.8 years, P = 0.017); have higher CESD scores (16.6 vs. 9.5, P = 0.001); and report decreased arousal (56.8% vs. 25.1%, P = 0.001), infrequent orgasm (54% vs. 28.8%, P = 0.001), and dyspareunia (39.7% vs. 10.6%, P = 0.001). Women with sexual distress were also more likely to report sexual difficulty related to pelvic floor symptoms, including urinary incontinence with sexual activity (9% vs. 1.3%, P = 0.005), sexual avoidance due to vaginal prolapse (13.9% vs. 1%, P = 0.001), or sexual activity restriction due to fear of urinary incontinence (14.9% vs. 0.5%, P = 0.001). After multivariate analysis, sexual distress was significantly associated with dyspareunia (odds ratio [OR] 3.11, P = 0.008) and depression score (OR 1.05, P = 0.006), and inversely associated with feelings of arousal during sex (OR 0.19, P = 0.001). Conclusion. Our results indicate that sexually related personal distress is significantly associated with dyspareunia, depressive symptoms, and decreased arousal during sexual activity. This contributes to our understanding of how sexual complaints may adversely affect women's quality of life.
AB - Introduction. The American Psychiatric Association recommends considering sexually related personal distress when assessing female sexual dysfunction. Currently, there is little data regarding the impact of sexual complaints on sexual distress. Aim. To investigate the association between sexual complaints and perceived sexual distress in a population of ambulatory adult women. Methods. Using the short forms of the Personal Experiences Questionnaire and Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire, we assessed sexual complaints among 305 women seeking outpatient gynecologic care. Depressive symptoms were quantified using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) score. Sexual distress was measured using the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS). Using multivariable logistic regression, we compared sexual complaints between distressed and nondistressed women. Main Outcome Measures. Sexual distress, defined by FSDS score ≥15. Results. FSDS scores were available for 292/305 participants. Seventy-six (26%) scores reflected distress. Distressed women were more likely to be younger (55.2 ± 1.0 years vs. 56.7 ± 0.8 years, P = 0.017); have higher CESD scores (16.6 vs. 9.5, P = 0.001); and report decreased arousal (56.8% vs. 25.1%, P = 0.001), infrequent orgasm (54% vs. 28.8%, P = 0.001), and dyspareunia (39.7% vs. 10.6%, P = 0.001). Women with sexual distress were also more likely to report sexual difficulty related to pelvic floor symptoms, including urinary incontinence with sexual activity (9% vs. 1.3%, P = 0.005), sexual avoidance due to vaginal prolapse (13.9% vs. 1%, P = 0.001), or sexual activity restriction due to fear of urinary incontinence (14.9% vs. 0.5%, P = 0.001). After multivariate analysis, sexual distress was significantly associated with dyspareunia (odds ratio [OR] 3.11, P = 0.008) and depression score (OR 1.05, P = 0.006), and inversely associated with feelings of arousal during sex (OR 0.19, P = 0.001). Conclusion. Our results indicate that sexually related personal distress is significantly associated with dyspareunia, depressive symptoms, and decreased arousal during sexual activity. This contributes to our understanding of how sexual complaints may adversely affect women's quality of life.
KW - FSDS
KW - PISQ
KW - SPEQ
KW - Sexual Distress
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01955.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.01955.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 20704643
AN - SCOPUS:78049460118
SN - 1743-6095
VL - 7
SP - 3675
EP - 3682
JO - Journal of Sexual Medicine
JF - Journal of Sexual Medicine
IS - 11
ER -