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Introduction Describe differences in sexual activity and function in women with and without pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). Methods Heterosexual women > 40 years of age who presented to either Urogynecology or general gynecology clinics at 11 clinical sites were recruited. Women were asked if they were sexually active with a male partner. Validated questionnaires and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POPQ) examinations assessed urinary incontinence (UI), fecal incontinence (FI) and/or pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Sexual activity and function was measured by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Student’s t-tests were used to assess continuous variables; categorical variables were assessed with Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the impact of PFDs on FSFI total and domain scores. Results 505 women met eligibility requirements and consent for participation. Women with and without PFDs did not differ in race, BMI, co-morbid medical conditions, or hormone use. Women with PFDs were slightly older than women without PFDs (55.6 + 10.8 vs. 51.6 + 8.3 years, P <0.001); all analyses were controlled for age. Women with PFDs were as likely to be sexually active as women without PFDs (61.6 vs. 75.5%, P=0.09). There was no difference in total FSFI scores between cohorts (23.2 + 8.5 vs. 24.4 + 9.2, P= 0.23) or FSFI domain scores (all p = NS). Conclusion Rates of sexual activity and function are not different between women with and without PFDs.

Introduction and hypothesis-This study seeks to determine if total vaginal length (TVL) or genital hiatus (GH) impact sexual activity and function.

The objective of this study was to determine if vaginal stiffness index, an in vivo vaginal biomechanical property, is correlated with pelvic floor disorder symptom distress, impact on quality of life, or sexual function as measured by disease-specific quality-of-life scales. Forty-eight women completed validated quality-of-life scales (pelvic floor distress inventory-short form, pelvic floor impact questionnaire, and pelvic organ prolapse/urinary incontinence sexual questionnaire) and underwent in vivo vaginal biomechanical testing. After bivariate relationships between vaginal stiffness index and demographic, obstetric, and gynecologic variables were explored, multiple linear regression controlling for pelvic organ prolapse quantitative (POP-Q) stage of prolapse was performed. The vaginal stiffness index was inversely correlated with pelvic organ prolapse distress severity (POPDI-6) after controlling for POP-Q stage of prolapse (p = 0.011, r = 0.67, r (2) = 0.450, beta = -2.3). These findings provide initial evidence for the construct validity of in vivo vaginal biomechanical testing for pelvic organ prolapse evaluation because an increasing vaginal stiffness index is correlated with decreasing symptomatic and anatomic severity of disease.

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