title: Sexual dysfunction in women with obstructive sleep apnea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Female sexual dysfunction is vastly under-recognized but has been previously described in chronic disease states. Sexual dysfunction in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is well described, but not in females.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with OSA.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 21 consecutive pre-menopausal women with OSA, referred to our sleep lab, and who had a positive study for sleep apnea (respiratory disturbance index (RDI) > 5), and 11 healthy pre-menopausal women were included as the control group. Subjects were administered the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire and a mood scale-Profile of Mood States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the study group, 11 women (52.4%) had FSFI scores in the poor range (<23) as compared to the control group, in which none of the women (0%) had FSFI scores in the poor range (<23). Negative mood domain scores were not different in patients with poor FSFI compared to patients with normal FSFI scores. There was no correlation between obesity, severity of sleep apnea, or mood disorders on overall scores of sexual dysfunction. Among individual domains, there was a correlation between RDI and arousal scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study, we have found that prevalence of sexual dysfunction is high among women with OSA. Physicians should routinely screen and evaluate women with OSA for sexual dysfunction.
authors: Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77025, USA. ssubrama@bcm.edu
authors: Shyam
authors: S
authors: Subramanian
authors: Swetha
authors: S
authors: Bopparaju
authors: Ashesh
authors: A
authors: Desai
authors: Tammy
authors: T
authors: Wiggins
authors: Cheryl
authors: C
authors: Rambaud
authors: Salim
authors: S
authors: Surani
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D017697:Premenopause / Q000502:physiology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires