Young Swedish women's experience of pain and discomfort during sexual intercourse.
OBJECTIVE
To study experience and prevalence of (1) pain related to first sexual intercourse; (2) pain and/or discomfort associated with sexual intercourse during the previous month; and (3) associations between these experiences.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
A youth center in southeast Sweden.


METHODS
Three hundred consecutive women, aged 13-21 (response rate 98%).


METHODS
During a two-month period, women consulting a youth center, participated in a questionnaire study.


METHODS
Pain and/or discomfort during sexual intercourse.


RESULTS
The majority of the participants, 98%, had had sexual intercourse and of those, 65% reported pain related to first sexual intercourse. Forty-nine percent (99/203) of those who reported sexual intercourse during the previous month had experienced coital pain and/or discomfort during that period, and for almost every second woman (46/99), those experiences constituted a problem. We found no association between experience of pain during first sexual intercourse and pain and/or discomfort during the previous month.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of pain and/or discomfort associated with sexual intercourse is high among women visiting a youth center. Our results show that coital pain in young women is a problem which needs to be further explored.
Elmerstig
Eva
E
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Gender and Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linkoping University, Sweden. eva.elmerstig@liu.se
Wijma
Barbro
B
Swahnberg
Katarina
K
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D003075:Coitus; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult