Sexual functioning in women and men with fibromyalgia.
BACKGROUND
Sexual dysfunction has been associated with several chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia. However, the literature on sexual functioning in patients with fibromyalgia is limited and restricted to female patients.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to evaluate sexual functioning in female and male patients with fibromyalgia compared with healthy controls.


METHODS
Sexual functioning was evaluated using the Spanish validated version of the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ).


METHODS
We used baseline data from several studies performed in adult patients with fibromyalgia (American College of Rheumatology criteria) of both sexes in which sexual functioning was included in the clinical evaluation. As a control group, we selected an age-matched group of healthy subjects. We calculated the proportion of patients exhibiting sexual dysfunction (i.e., a CSFQ total score equal to or lower than 41 in females and 47 in males). CSFQ scores for patients and controls were compared, and the effect sizes for the difference of means were calculated.


RESULTS
Our sample comprised 293 patients with fibromyalgia (276 females and 17 males) and 86 healthy controls (72 females and 14 males). The frequency of sexual dysfunction was significantly higher in patients with fibromyalgia than in controls for both females (86.9% vs. 23.6%; relative risk [RR] 3.7, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4-5.6) and males (76.5% vs. 6.7%; RR 11.5, 95% CI, 1.7-77.6). We found significantly worse sexual functioning for all dimensions in both female and male patients with fibromyalgia. Effect sizes for the difference in mean scores of the CSFQ were large overall and for all dimensions in both females and males.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that sexual dysfunction is common in patients with fibromyalgia. The disease seems to deeply affect all dimensions of sexual functioning in both females and males.
Instituto de Neurociencias y Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain. fernando.ricovillademoros@gmail.com
Fernando
F
Rico-Villademoros
Elena P
EP
Calandre
Carmen M
CM
Rodríguez-López
Jocelyne
J
García-Carrillo
Javier
J
Ballesteros
Javier
J
Hidalgo-Tallón
Juan M
JM
García-Leiva
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires