Associations between menstrual pain and sexual function: the role of visceral hypersensitivity on developing sexual pain

Abstract

Background Dyspareunia, defined as pain before, during or after intercourse, is a subset of female sexual dysfunction with overlapping gynecologic, urologic and psychosocial etiologies. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the impact of menstrual pain and visceral hypersensitivity on sexual function and to identify risk factors for sexual pain in healthy reproductive-age females. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated gynecologic and psychologic self-reported histories, validated sexual function questionnaires, and conducted a standardized gynecologic examination enhanced by quantitative sensory testing in reproductive-aged females with menstrual pain versus pain-free controls. Correlation analysis was conducted between the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) pain subdomain score and a priori hypothesized risk factors for dyspareunia: menstrual pain severity, experimentally provoked bladder sensitivity, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, and vaginal pressure-pain sensitivity. Outcomes The primary outcome was severity of sexual pain as measured by the FSFI, comparing participants with moderate-to-severe dysmenorrhea (n = 99), dysmenorrhea with bladder hypersensitivity (n = 49) identified on non-invasive oral water challenge, and pain-free controls (n = 37). Results In our young (median age 22 [IQR 19, 29]), nulliparous, predominantly heterosexual cohort (78.3%, 144/185), 64.3% (119/185) engaged in sexual intercourse within the four-week recall period. The median total FSFI score was 27.2 (22.0, 30.2). Across groups, only the dysmenorrhea with bladder hypersensitivity phenotype met the threshold for sexual dysfunction as measured by total FSFI score (24.6 [20.0, 28.1], p = 0.008). Dysfunction was driven by difficulties with lubrication and higher pain levels during and after intercourse. On physical examination, those with and without dyspareunia were largely indistinguishable, with little to no tenderness of the pelvic floor, bladder, uterus and uterosacral ligaments. Amongst the six hypothesized risk factors for sexual pain, only experimentally provoked bladder pain was significantly associated with the severity of dyspareunia (r = 0.41, corrected p < 0.001). Clinical Implications Young, otherwise healthy individuals with dysmenorrhea and occult visceral hypersensitivity exhibit signs of sexual dysfunction and significantly higher rates of dyspareunia in the absence of reliable clinical examination findings. Strengths and Limitations Strengths include the use of a nonclinical sample of almost exclusively nulliparous females with no co-morbid pelvic pain diagnoses and prospective diary confirmation of dysmenorrhea severity. The study is limited by the narrow heteronormative, cisnormative sexual experience of penile-vaginal intercourse captured by the FSFI. Conclusion Sexual pain is more prevalent in those with dysmenorrhea with bladder hypersensitivity than isolated dysmenorrhea, suggesting visceral hypersensitivity may be a non-structural mechanistic driver for dyspareunia.