Sexual dysfunction and coronary artery disease in adult women

Elinor Megiddo*, Dan Justo, Yaron Arbel, Amit Oren, Rafi Heruti, Shmuel Banai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in adult women with coronary artery disease (CAD) has seldom been studied, and the association between sexual dysfunction severity and with CAD severity has never been studied. Aim: To study the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its severity by CAD severity in adult women. Methods: Adult women undergoing coronary angiography at the Tel Aviv Medical Center completed a sexual questionnaire titled Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Scores of 23 or lower in this questionnaire were consistent with sexual dysfunction. The cohort was divided into three groups: 1. Women without CAD. 2. Women with one vessel disease. 3. Women with two or more vessel disease. CAD was defined as one or more coronary artery stenosis of 50% or more, and/or history of myocardial infarction. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular risk factors was compared between these groups. Results: The study included 104 adult women (age range: 42-92 years mean age: 11.2±68.7 years). Sixty five (62.5%) women had one-vessel disease (n=27) or more (n=38). Overall, 39 (37.5%) women had no coronary stenosis and/or history of myocardial infarction. Most women (n=68 65.4%) had no sexual activity. Among the 36 sexually active women, 11 (30.6%) women had a normal sexual function. Normal sexual function was two-times more prevalent in women without CAD relative to women with CAD (7.7% vs. 15.4% p=0.049). These findings were not statistically significant following adjustment for age. The odds for normal sexual function were low as more coronaries were stenotic, but these findings were not statistically significant. Conclusions: A trend towards association between CAD severity and sexual dysfunction severity in adult women has been demonstrated for the first time. Sexual dysfunction and lack of sexual activity are very common among adult women with CAD. There is a negative association between the number of coronary arteries involved and normal sexual function, but this trend should be studied in a larger cohort.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)611-614
Number of pages4
JournalHarefuah
Volume148
Issue number9
StatePublished - Sep 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Coronary artery disease
  • Sexual dysfunction

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