Prevalence And Correlates of Female Sexual Dysfunction at a Gynecology Clinic in Bahrain PDF

Keywords

Bahrain, Female sexual dysfunction [FSD], Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI], Women health.

Abstract

Epidemiological research in the field of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is mainly limited by the diagnostic dilemma because of the intricacy of the female sexual response. The problem might start since the beginning of the sexual life, or it might be acquired later after having a normal sexual life. Around 40% of women worldwide affected by FSD. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and sociomedical correlates of FSD in Bahrain and assess the consequences of the condition to investigate the public health burden of this condition and increase awareness amongst health care providers. Materials and methods: A hospital based two centers (Salmaniya medical complex and king Hamad university Hospital); cross sectional study was conducted in Bahrain on a consecutive sample of 255 women visiting 2 gynecology clinics. The main inclusion criteria were: married women and sexually active, aged 18-55 years who presented to the ambulatory clinic with general gynecologic complaints not related to sexual dysfunction. Pregnant, unmarried, and women aged less than 18 or more than 55 years were excluded from the study population. A validated female sexual function index questionnaire (English version) was self-completed by the women. Demographic, obstetric, medical, and socioeconomic data were collected. A cut off FSFI score <26.55 was used to define the presence of FSD. Results: The total number of patients encountered in the study was 255, 84% were Bahraini, 11.4% were Arabs and 4.5% were from other nationalities. The differences in population characteristics between the 3 subgroups was not significant. The majority of women had a university education (58.4%), worked as professionals (32.9%), had >2 deliveries (39.9%) and were non-smokers (97.6%). It was found that 60% of the participants were complaining of chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and / or sever premenstrual symptoms, while 11.3% and 2.9% of the study cohort answered having at least one episode of urinary and fecal incontinence over the last 12 months. The overall prevalence of FSD was 55.7%. Four general variables were studied among which age more than 50 years old was found significantly associated with FSD (P=0.01). There was a significant association between FSD and abnormal uterine bleeding (11.8%) and vaginitis (22%). The most significant effects on low FSFI score were pain, satisfaction, lubrication, orgasm, desire and arousal. Conclusion: FSD is a highly prevalent condition in married women attending a gynecology clinic in Bahrain with a significant adverse impact on their quality of life. FSD deserves more attention in the national agenda and should be a priority in women health care.