Resum
Objective The purpose of the present investigation was to assess sexual function
among middle-aged women and determine related risk factors (personal and partner) for
sexual dysfunction.
Methods In this cross-sectional study, women aged 40–59 years were requested to fill
out the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and a general demographic questionnaire
containing personal and partner data.
Results A total of 409 women with a mean age of 47+5.3 years were surveyed. Of
these, 42.1% were premenopausal, 24.4% perimenopausal and 33.5% postmenopausal.
At the time of survey, 10.5% of women were hysterectomized, 1.5% used psychotropic
drugs, and 9.8% were on hormone therapy (HT) for the menopause; 28.1% had less
than 12 years of schooling and 80.4% had only one partner at the moment of survey.
Among their male partners, 7.3% abused alcohol, 10.3% had erectile dysfunction,
11.2% premature ejaculation and 63.83% were faithful partners. Mean (+ standard
deviation) scores for the FSFI domains were: desire (3.7+1.2), arousal (3.1+2.5),
lubrication (3.3+2.6), orgasm (2.6+2.3), satisfaction (4+1.7), and pain/dyspareunia
(3.2+2.6). The mean total FSFI score was 20.1+12.4 (median 24.7). In this series, the
prevalence of female sexual dysfunction (FSFI score _26.55) was 55.7%, with women
presenting difficulties across all domains of female sexual function but mostly in the
dyspareunia and lubrication domains. Logistic regression analysis determined that
female age (odds ratio (OR) 3.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6–6.8), p¼0.001),
postmenopausal status (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3–6.1, p¼0.007), partner’s age (OR 2.0,
95% CI 1–4, p¼0.03), educational level (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.5–5, p¼0.001), and the
presence of erectile dysfunction (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.3–10.9, p¼0.01) and premature
ejaculation (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.4–11.7, p¼0.0001) significantly increased the risk for
female sexual dysfunction. Partner faithfulness (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.4, p¼0.001)
and menopausal HT use (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.1–1, p¼0.04) decreased this risk.
Conclusions In this series, male sexual health and demographic profile and female HT
use were relevant determinants for sexual functioning among middle-aged women.