Female Sexual Dysfunction Among a Sample of Egyptian Patients with Asthma

Abstract

Background: Despite asthma being a worldwide disease, still little awareness regarding the sexual function of asthmatic patients exists. So this study attempts to assess the Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) amongst Egyptian females with asthma and its burden on their quality of life. Materials & Methods: The sample consisted of 180 subjects, comprising 90 asthma patients and 90 healthy controls aged between 20 - 45 years old, who visited the Chest Department Outpatient Clinic of Ain Shams University Hospital between January and December 2018. We reported all the subjects' demographic and clinical data; both groups answered an Arabic version of the Female Sexual Function Index (Ar FSFI) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire abbreviated version (WHOQL-Bref). Results: 90% of asthmatic females had FSD; total Female Sexual Function Index score was 12.956 ± 10.3 in asthmatic females compared to 25.423 ± 5.521 in healthy controls; 45.6% of asthmatic females with sexual dysfunction had moderate asthma and 86.4% had uncontrolled asthma, 40.1% of them had a low educational level and 80.2% were unemployed. Conclusion: Jobless females with severe uncontrolled asthma and a low educational level had higher sexual dysfunction and a poor quality of life.

Relationship between the symptoms of COPD and the quality of sexual life

“…In our study, it was determined that the Sexual Quality of Life increased as the education level increased. Some studies have reported sexual dysfunction decreases and the quality of sexual life increases as the level of education increases, hence, education level is an important risk factor for the development of sexual dysfunction [ 11 , 15 ]. In this study, the low quality of sexual life of patients with a low level of education can be explained by their lack of knowledge about sexuality, perceiving sexuality as taboo, accepting the situation with the understanding of weakness, not being comfortable to talk about sexuality and accepting it as learned concepts.…”

“…In our study, it was determined that the quality of sexual life decreased with increasing age. Studies have shown that sexual life and functions are negatively affected by increasing age [ 10 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 24 ]. It is known that as age increases, hormonal changes in individuals, decrease in the capacity of organ functions and physical disability cause an increase in sexual dysfunction [ 10 ].…”

“…Reda et al determined that the severity of asthma affects sexuality, and that 90% of asthmatic patients have sexual dysfunction and have a lower quality of life. In addition, in another study, it was reported that 60% of individuals with sexual activity needed to change their sexual lives due to their diseases (rhythm, frequency and position) [ 15 , 16 ].…”

The Relationship between Allergic Disease and Sexual Dysfunction: A Scoping Review

“…Among females, particularly the asthmatic patients, the most common SD was diminished arousal, followed by loss of desire and orgasm difficulty [25, 27]. The emotional well-being of the patients had a remarkable impact on the overall FSFI score, whereas domains such as intercourse satisfaction, lubrication, and pain were less affected by allergic diseases and showed minimal changes even after the improvement of allergic symptoms [31]. Based on these findings, we assume that psychological stress and depression play a primary role in SD of female allergic patients, which disinterest them to perform sexual activity.…”

Predictors of sexual satisfaction among patients with chronic pain

“…Chronic comorbid medical conditions may also have effects on sexual function due to symptoms, sequelae, and/or required medications associated with the disease. This can be the case with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease ( 10 ), diabetes mellitus ( 11 ), epilepsy ( 12 ), cardiovascular and respiratory conditions ( 13 , 14 ), and hepatic, urinary, and reproductive health conditions ( 15 – 17 ).…”