Female Sexual Function and Its Association with the Severity of Menopause-Related Symptoms

Isabel Pérez-Herrezuelo, Agustín Aibar-Almazán, Antonio Martínez-Amat, Raquel Fábrega-Cuadros, Esther Díaz-Mohedo, Rosemary Wangensteen and Fidel Hita-Contreras
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Isabel Pérez-Herrezuelo: Department of Obstetrics and Ginecology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, 18014 Granada, Spain
Agustín Aibar-Almazán: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Antonio Martínez-Amat: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Raquel Fábrega-Cuadros: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Esther Díaz-Mohedo: Department Physiotherapy, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain
Rosemary Wangensteen: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Fidel Hita-Contreras: Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine female sexual functioning and its association with the impact of the symptoms of menopause among Spanish postmenopausal women. A total of 182 postmenopausal women (65.59 ± 7.93 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. The female sexual function index (FSFI) and the menopause rating scale (MRS) were used to analyze sexual function and severity of menopausal symptoms, respectively. Age, education, area of residence, occupation, and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were considered as possible confounders. The results of a linear multivariate regression analysis showed that the severity of urogenital menopause-related symptoms was associated with lower values in the FSFI total score and the lubrication, satisfaction, arousal, and orgasm domains. These last three subscales were also linked to severe psychological impact, while the MRS total score was only related to the desire domain. Regarding confounders, being younger, working, and residing in a rural area were all linked to better sexual function. All effect sizes were large (adjusted R 2 > 0.35). In conclusion, after controlling for possible confounders, postmenopausal women who experience a severe impact of menopausal symptoms endure poorer sexual function, particularly when said symptoms are urogenital or psychological in nature.

Keywords: sexual function; menopausal symptoms; depression; psychological; urogenital (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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