Effects of estrogen deficiency on sexual activity of climacteric women

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of hypoestrogenism on women's sexuality during the climacteric. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 195 women attending an outpatient clinic between September 2014 and May 2015. The Female Sexual Quotient (QS-F) questionnaire was administered and the chi-square test was used to test for homogeneity of proportions. The level of significance was p < 0.05. Poisson regression was used for variables with p < 0.25 to test for possible confounding variables. Results: The mean age of participants was 53.5 (± 7.1) years. The final QS-F score ranged from 0-100, with an average of 56.0 (± 23.8). Women aged 50 years and under were 1.12 times (95%CI 1.01; 1.23) more likely to be associated with the "null to above moderate" category of sexual activity (p=0.025). Furthermore, those who had eight years of schooling or less were 0.88 times (95%CI 0.79; 0.97) less likely to have poor sexual activity as compared to those who had a better education level (p=0.009). Conclusion: None of the symptoms of hypoestrogenism was associated with sexual activity. However, women under 50 years old and those with a higher level of education were more likely to be associated with poor sexual activity.