title: Hypoactive sexual desire disorder in postmenopausal women: quality of life and health burden.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) implications of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in a national sample of postmenopausal women ages 30–70.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Nationwide Survey of Female Sexual Health, a random-digit telephone survey of US households, collected information on female sexual function, demographic characteristics, HRQOL, and the presence of specific medical disorders from 1189 naturally or surgically postmenopausal women in stable relationships of ≥3 months duration. HSDD was defined as <40 on the Profile of Female Sexual Function© scale and <60 on the Personal Distress Scale©. Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12) summary and domain scores, and EuroQol (EQ-5D) index score and dimensions were compared with population-based norms for healthy individuals and selected chronic conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HSDD was associated with significant HRQOL decrements, with the largest SF-12 score differences in mental health (HSDD: 45.4 [standard error 1.9] vs. no HSDD: 51.0 [0.6], P < 0.01), vitality (HSDD: 47.7 [1.3] vs. no HSDD: 52.0 [0.7], P < 0.01), social function (HSDD: 47.3 [1.4] vs. no HSDD: 50.9 [0.7], P < 0.05), and bodily pain (HSDD: 41.4 [2.2] vs. no HSDD: 46.7 [0.9], P < 0.05). EQ-5D index was 0.08 points lower (HSDD: 0.76 [0.03] vs. no HSDD: 0.84 [0.02], P < 0.05) for those with HSDD compared with those without. HSDD was associated with a 0.1-point decrement in naturally menopausal women (HSDD: 0.78 [0.03] vs. no HSDD 0.88 [0.01], P < 0.01). Women with HSDD showed more HRQOL impairment than healthy population norms but were similar to adults with other chronic conditions such as diabetes and back pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with HSDD showed substantial impairment in HRQOL. Given a prevalence of 6.6% to 12.5% among US women, HSDD represents an important burden on quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Gillings, School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Andrea.Biddle@unc.edu
authors.forename: Andrea K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Biddle
authors.forename: Suzanne L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Aimee A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: D'Aloisio
authors.forename: Stephanie B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: Natalie N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Borisov
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thorp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*