title: Quality of sexual life of women on oral contraceptive continued-regimen: pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, women may use flexible oral contraceptive (OC) regimens.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of sexual life of healthy women on continued-regimen OCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty women (age range 18-38) were enrolled. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaires were used to investigate, respectively, sexual behavior and the quality of life (QoL) of women on OC for 72 days with a 4-day hormone-free interval, for two cycles. Both the FSFI and the SF-36 were administered before starting OC intake, at the first (72-82 days) and the second (144-154 days) follow-ups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The main outcomes are the FSFI and the SF-36 questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The FSFI score obtained at the first follow-up detected a worsening with respect to baseline score (P < 0.05). The score obtained at the second follow-up detected an improvement with respect to both the baseline and the first follow-up total scores (P < 0.05). QoL improved at the first follow-up only as regards body pain (P < 0.05), and at the second follow-up as regards: physical role, body pain, general health, vitality, and social function (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of continued-regimen OCs is able to improve the sexual behavior and the QoL of women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Surgical Specialties, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. scaruso@unict.it
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malandrino
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cicero
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciancio
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cariola
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cianci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000736:Androstenes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D008796:Metrorrhagia / Q000139:chemically induced; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012102:Reproductive Control Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000736:Androstenes; D012102:Reproductive Control Agents; C534342:drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol combination; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol