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Female Sexual Dysfunction Found In Half of Women
Studied
About 10 million older women have reported problems
in the past
May 27, 2005 – About 10 million women between the
ages of 50 and 74 reported sexual problems in earlier studies, according
to researchers who say their new study of women 18 to 68 indicates the
primary culprit may be a decreased sensation in the clitoris, which
affected almost half of those in their study.
"There is a paucity of data available on FSD
(female sexual dysfunction) and this study brings attention to the
possibility of a neurological cause for the dysfunction," said lead
author Kathleen Connell, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of
Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of
Medicine.
Connell said previous epidemiological studies have
shown that about 10 million women between the ages of 50 and 74 report
abnormal sexual complaints, including decreased desire, inability to
reach orgasm and increased pain with intercourse.
In contrast to data on men, Connell said clinical
trials evaluating the physiologic mechanisms responsible for sexual
function in women are few, despite reports of other investigators, which
suggest that sexual dysfunctions may be more common in women than men.
"The sexual response is complex and involves
interaction between the nervous system, the vascular system and the
musculoskeletal system," said Connell. "Alterations in any of these
systems could potentially cause FSD."
The trial was conducted while Connell was at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The team studied the pudenal nerve,
which provides nerve fibers to the pelvic floor muscles and is also
responsible for sensation in the genital region. They evaluated the role
of genital neurological integrity and sexual function in 56 women. They
used a validated screening questionnaire to identify women between ages
18 and 68 with FSD and tested vibratory and pressure sensation in the
genital region.
The team found that 48.2 percent of the women studied reported sexual
dysfunction. Of the women with FSD, 23.2 percent had more than one form
of sexual dysfunction. Those with sexual dysfunction had decreased
sensation in the clitoris compared to asymptomatic women.
The research published
in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology was by
researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine.
Other authors on the study included Marsha K.
Guess, M.D., Julie La Combe, M.D., Andrea Wang, M.D., Kenneth Powers,
M.D., George Lazarou, M.D. and Magdy Mikhail, M.D.
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