title: The impact of vulvar lichen sclerosus on sexual dysfunction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory condition that is known to arise on the vulva. Many women with LS report vulvar pain, often affecting a patient's quality of life. In this study, the sexual function of LS patients, with and without pain, was compared to control populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study to examine the relationship between LS and sexual dysfunction was conducted. A total of 335 women presenting to the gynecology clinic were included in the study: 197 women with biopsy confirmed LS were compared to two control groups (95 asymptomatic women were "healthy" controls and 43 women had vulvovaginal candidiasis) on self-reported current health complaints, medical and surgical history and current symptoms such as pain and itching, type and frequency of sexual activity, and satisfaction with sexual activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with LS reported less frequent sexual activity than healthy controls (p=0.007) and Candida controls (p=0.04). Currently sexually active women with LS were significantly less likely to report vaginal intercourse (71.6%) than healthy controls (89.0%, p=0.003) or Candida controls (100%, p=0.0003), even though similar proportions of all three groups reported that vaginal intercourse was important. Satisfaction towards the quality of current sexual activity was significantly lower among women with LS compared with both the healthy and Candida control groups. 23.7% of women with LS reported that sexual activity was rarely or never satisfactory as compared with 0% of healthy controls (p<0.0001) and 6.5% of Candida controls (p=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with LS have less frequent sexual activity and less satisfying sexual activity when compared with controls.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Michigan Health System , Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Hope K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Haefner
authors.forename: Nely Z
authors.initials: NZ
authors.lastname: Aldrich
authors.forename: Vanessa K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Hélène M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gagné
authors.forename: Stephanie B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: Divya A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Mitchell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003075:Coitus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018459:Lichen Sclerosus et Atrophicus / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009948:Orgasm; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D007724:Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult