Sexual well-being of cervical cancer survivors under 50 years old and the factors affecting their libido.
OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to study the relationship between the sexual well-being and quality of life (QOL) of cervical cancer patients and analyze the factors influencing their libidos.


METHODS
The subjects in this study were Chinese cervical cancer survivors under 50 years old. The information on their disease and treatments was obtained through their medical records. The subjects were surveyed in their homes regarding their sexual well-being, age, educational level, and QOL.


RESULTS
59% of the subjects did not want to have a sex life, and 65.09% were unsatisfied with their sex life. Among the women who did not want to have a sex life, the following reasons were given: 52.38% due to the side effects of treatments, 23.81% feared that sex would damage their surgical sites, 9.52% lacked libido, 9.52% feared that sex would make their conditions worse, and 4.76% feared that having sex would transmit the disease to their spouses. After adjusting the age and survival time, the women's sexual well-being was able to explain 61.80% of the variations in QOL. In addition, libido and sexual satisfaction affected the women's social/family well-being (both p < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The sexual well-being of Chinese women with cervical cancer is poor. The main reasons for not wanting to have a sex life are treatment-induced vaginal conditions and lack of disease- and treatment-related knowledge. Improvement of women's sexual well-being plays an important role in the improvement of their QOL. Healthcare nurses should be concerned about women's needs for sex-related knowledge after cervical cancer treatment and provide them with psychological help.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Jun
J
Tian
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007989:Libido / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*