No abstract

Using the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) questionnaire specifically designed to measure the impact of erectile dysfunction (ED) on female partners' sexuality, we demonstrated that ED has a negative impact on the sexual life of female partners, specifically on their sexual satisfaction and sexual drive. Further analyses showed lower sexual satisfaction and sexual drive for women reporting a disturbance or change in their own sexual lives than for women who did not. Older women had lower scores compared to younger women, independent of whether their partner had ED or not. The ISL will be useful in treatment decisions when assessing the couple's satisfaction with treatment for ED.

Effective treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) are available, however, reestablishing erectile function does not necessarily reestablish a satisfying sexual relationship. To assess broader influences on treatment discontinuation than pure efficacy, we developed and psychometrically validated the Index of Sexual Life (ISL) to measure the impact of ED on female partners' sexuality. This 11-item instrument measures sexual life satisfaction, sexual drive and general life satisfaction. Good construct validity, criterion validity, and reproducibility were demonstrated. Female partners of men with ED report significantly lower levels of sexual satisfaction and sexual drive than those without ED. The ISL is successfully validated.

A French quality of life questionnaire specific to erectile dysfunction (ED), 'QVS' for 'Questionnaire de Vie Sexuelle', has been developed. This paper describes its validation: item reduction and reliability (internal consistency and reproducibility), construct validity and criterion validity (clinical, discriminant and concurrent). The initial 40-item questionnaire was administered once to 316 ED and 117 control subjects, and twice (D0 and D7) to 104 ED and 29 control subjects. Item reduction gave a 27-item questionnaire with three scales (Sexual Life, Skills and Psychosocial Wellbeing) and four scores (one score for each scale and a Global Index). Psychometric analyses demonstrated the reliability and the validity of the QVS. The questionnaire was able to discriminate patients according to the presence or severity of ED. The Skills scale was the least sensitive. Analysis of responsiveness to change over time still needs to be addressed to consider the questionnaire as a fully validated instrument.

No abstract