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Item
#9
Sexual Dysfunction in Women
With Type 1 Diabetes
Women with diabetes are clearly at risk for decreased
desire and dyspareunia and that especially the arousal
phase can be affected.
This study
aimed to 1) examine the prevalence of sexual
problems in women with type 1 diabetes, 2) compare
this prevalence rate with that of an age-matched control
group, 3) study the influence of
diabetes-related somatic factors on female sexuality,
and 4) study the influence of psychological
variables on the sexual functioning of both groups.
A total of
120 women with diabetes visiting the outpatient
diabetes clinic completed questionnaires evaluating
psychological adjustment to diabetes, marital satisfaction,
depression, and sexual functioning. Medical records were
used to obtain data on HbA1c, use of
medication, BMI, and early-onset microvascular
complications. An age-matched control group of 180
healthy women attending an outpatient gynecological clinic
for preventive routine gynecological assessment also
completed the non–diabetes-related questionnaires.
RESULTS
—More women with diabetes than control subjects
reported sexual dysfunction (27 vs. 15%; P = 0.04), but a
significant difference was found only for decreased
lubrication. No association was found between sexual
dysfunction and age, BMI, duration of diabetes, HbA1c,
use of medication, menopausal status, or complications.
Women with more complications, however, reported
significantly more sexual dysfunctions, and the presence of
complications altered treatment satisfaction. Both diabetic
and control women with sexual dysfunction mentioned lower
overall quality of the marital relation and more
depressive symptoms than their respective counterparts
without sexual problems. Depression was a significant
predictor for sexual dysfunction in both women with
diabetes and control subjects.
CONCLUSIONS—
This study revealed that sexual dysfunction was related
to general psychological factors in both women with diabetes
and control women. Sexual dysfunction was associated with
lower overall quality of marital relation and more
depressive symptoms in both groups. This is not
surprising because the relation between marital
relation, depression, and sexual dysfunction is well
established in the literature. Our attempt to find significant
predictors of sexual dysfunction showed only depression to
be a significant predictor of sexual dysfunction. This
suggests that, in both women with diabetes and control
women, sexual dysfunction seems to be related to
psychological rather than other factors.
The
results of this study confirm that women with diabetes
are clearly at risk for decreased desire and dyspareunia
and that especially the arousal phase can be affected. Our
results also suggest that psychological and not
diabetes-related somatic factors are related to sexual
dysfunction in women with diabetes. The sexual problems
of women with diabetes deserve more attention in
clinical research and practice. Sexual problems are
frequent in women with diabetes.
Diabetes Care
25:672-677, 2002
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FACT:
For each risk factor present, the risk of cardiovascular death is
about three times greater in people with diabetes as compared to
people without the condition.
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