title: Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in a cohort of middle-aged women: influences of menopause and hormone replacement therapy.
abstract: In order to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) and related risk factors in a cohort of middle-aged women the Laumann's test (DSM-IV) was passed to 534 healthy women between 40 and 64 years old (mean: 52.4+/-5.7) attending the Southern Metropolitan Health Service in Santiago de Chile. Of all the women, 82.8% were peri- or postmenopausal, 23% had received hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and 79.2% were sexually active. Among those who were sexually active a total of 51.3% presented SD. The prevalence of SD increased with age (from 22.2% in the 40-44-year age group to 66% in the 60-64-year age group). HRT users and healthy women presented a lower risk of SD (OR: 0.1 CI: 0.0-0.1 and OR: 0.6 CI: 0.3-0.9, respectively). The risk increased after the menopause (OR: 3.3 CI: 1.6-6.9) and with age older than 49 years (OR: 3.4 CI: 1.8-6.4), hysterectomy (OR: 3.7 CI: 1.3-10.6) and when male partners presented erectile dysfunction (OR: 3.2 CI: 1.2-8.6). In conclusion sexual dysfunction affects more than 51% of middle-aged women who are sexually active and increases with age. Ovarian function and HRT significantly influence sexual activity.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain. castelo@medicina.ub.es
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castelo-Branco
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Blumel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Araya
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riquelme
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haya
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gramegna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging; D015331:Cohort Studies; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000453:epidemiology*