Examining the sexual function and related attitudes among aged women: A cross- sectional study

Abstract

Background:Sexual function and its subsequent satisfaction are among the most important aspects of women’s life. However, this instinct could be influenced by some factors such as diseases, drug using, aging, and hormonal and physiologic changes associated with menopause, and sexual behavior.Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence rates of sexual dysfunction, and related attitudes among aged women in Jahrom, Iran. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 746 postmenopausal women aged between 50 and 89 years old who had referred to obstetric and gynecologic clinic in Jahrom, from April to October 2014. Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire was used order to assess the sexual function. The cases were classified into three categories according to the attitude scores: negative (17-32), medium (33-38), and positive (39-48). One-way ANOVA test was used to determine the relationship between FSFI and attitude scores. Results: The participants’ mean±SD age was 60.10±6.89 years and the total mean score of FSFI was 19.31±8.5. In addition, 81.5% of the women had sexual dysfunction (FSFI< 26.55) and only 147 women (18.5%) had normal sexual function (FSFI> 26.55). Almost 62.1% the women displayed a negative attitude towards sexuality and only 18.8% women had positive attitude. Feeling of dyspareunia (p= 0.02), lubrication (p< 0.0001), orgasm (p= 0.002) and satisfaction (p= 0.002) were significantly different between three categories of attitudes regarding sexuality, respectively Conclusion:Our data showed that sexual disorders were highly prevalent among postmenopausal women. The most affected problems were arousal, dyspareunia, and lubrication. More than half of the women had negative attitude towards sexual function consequently this could affect their sexual function. So, it seems screening of sexual dysfunction for finding the causes in women should be the main sexual health program. Also, it would be important to emphasis the role of physicians and experts on education and counseling in this subject.

Prevalence and predictors of sexual function in midlife partnered Chinese women assessed by two simple indicators: Sexual frequency and sexual desire

“…This analytic cross‐sectional study enrolled participants aged 40–65 years who visited the Menopause Clinic in the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. The inclusion criteria were as follows: with partners with no hormone therapies over the last 6 months completion of questionnaire without difficulty with no vaginal lubricants moisturizer over the past 3 months. Women with unworkable cooperation and missing data were excluded from the study.…”

“…Although it has been widely studied in Caucasians, little is known about Chinese women, especially in mainland China . China is a nation with a long history of conservatism and lack of sex education; therefore, Chinese females are usually reluctant to discuss sexual issues; the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) is often described as a reliable tool for determining dysfunction prevalence; however, it produced ambiguity or opposite results . Maybe one reason is that it is too complicated, embarrassing and time‐consuming for Chinese women to complete it, and the other is that the data bias is caused since FSFI does not exclude the unpartnered women .…”

Sexual Dysfunction in Menopausal Women

“…1,7,8 Sexual problems increase with age, reduction of estrogen levels, and natural menopause transition. 9,10 Thus, both increasing age and natural menopause have a significant negative impact on sexuality, especially libido, arousal, orgasm, desire, and sexual activity, whereas physical activity positively influences sexual function. 6,11 Estrogen plays an important role in awareness and receptivity of sexual activity.…”

Determining the factors influencing the intimate relationship between sexual satisfaction and dyadic adjustment in postmenopausal women

“…This is because psychosocial and hormonal alterations in the postmenopausal period cause problems not only for postmenopausal women but also for her spouse and family [ 10 ]. Moreover, these menopausal changes also affect women’s social and sexual life with an adverse effect on interfamily interactions [ 11 ]. In a study by Sis et al .…”