Sexual Function in Levothyroxine-Treated Hypothyroid Women and Women without Hypothyroidism: A Case-Control

Benjamín Romero-Gómez, Paula Guerrero-Alonso, Juan Manuel Carmona-Torres, José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera, Diana Patricia Pozuelo-Carrascosa and Ana Isabel Cobo-Cuenca
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Benjamín Romero-Gómez: Hospital El Tomillar de Sevilla, Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS), 41500 Alcalá de Guadaira, Spain
Paula Guerrero-Alonso: Centro de Salud Najera, Servicio Rioja Salud, 26300 Najera, Spain
Juan Manuel Carmona-Torres: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería de Toledo, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera: Grupo de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Cuidados (IMCU), Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Diana Patricia Pozuelo-Carrascosa: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería de Toledo, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Ana Isabel Cobo-Cuenca: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería de Toledo, Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Levothyroxine is the most common treatment to normalize thyroid hormones levels and to reduce primary hypothyroidism symptoms. Aim: To assess sexual function in women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism and women without hypothyroidism. Methods: A case-control study was performed with 152 women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism and 238 women without hypothyroidism. An online survey was used to collect socio-demographic data and the answers to the Women Sexual Function (WSF) questionnaire. Results : Women with levothyroxine-treated hypothyroidism showed a higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction than women in the control group (31.60% vs. 16.40%), furthermore the presence of hypothyroidism increased the risk of sexual dysfunction ( p = 0.002, OR: 2.29 (1.36−3.88)). The most affected domains were ‘desire’ ( p < 0.001), ‘arousal’ ( p = 0.003) and ‘penetration pain’ ( p = 0.020). In hypothyroid women, age increased the risk of sexual dysfunctions ( p = 0.009, OR: 1.07 (1.01−1.12)), however when age was adjusted (ANCOVA) the sexual dysfunction remained in women with hypothyroidism in all domains. Conclusions: Hypothyroidism is associated with an increase in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction even if treated with levothyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are normalized. Relevance to clinical practice: Sexual function in hypothyroid women should be assessed before and after starting the treatment.

Keywords: hypothyroidism; sexual dysfunction; physiological; health; women’s; thyroid hormone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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