title: A Swiss Longitudinal Study of the Prevalence of, and Overlap Between, Sexual Problems in Men and Women Aged 20 to 50 Years Old.
abstract: The aim of this study was to obtain data on the development and course of sexual problems and their interrelationships by investigating a representative sample of men and women over a period of 30 years. A representative sample of 299 women selected from the complete electoral register and 292 men selected from screening lists for military service in Zurich, Switzerland, answered questions about their sexuality as part of a series of seven interviews between ages 20 (1979) and 50 (2008). Of the initial sample of 591 participants, 43% (57% of them male) were lost to follow-up. Interviews were conducted using the Structured Psychopathological Interview and Rating of the Social Consequences of Psychological Disturbances for Epidemiology (SPIKE), a semistructured interview. Sexual problems were identified on the basis of the study participants' self-appraisal. One-year prevalence rates, lifetime risks, and overlap of functional, emotional, and sexual desire problems in men and women were evaluated. The findings confirmed higher lifetime risks in women than in men for any sexual problem (females 67.0%; males 46.0%) and for functional (39.3%; 22.1%), emotional (35.7%; 15.9%), and sexual desire problems (51.6%; 33.3%). While in general men's sexual problems increased with age, no such association was observed in women. The overlap of all three problems (functional, emotional, and sexual desire) was reported by 16.9% of women but only 5.0% of men. Although there are commonalities, the type but also the development and, in particular, the overlap of sexual problems in women and men are markedly different.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital , University of Zurich.
authors.forename: Jules
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Angst
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital , University of Zurich.|b Department of Applied Psychology , Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hengartner
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital , University of Zurich.|c Institute of Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM 27) , University of Sao Paulo.
authors.forename: Wulf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rössler
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital , University of Zurich.
authors.forename: Vladeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ajdacic-Gross
authors.affiliation: d Division of Reproductive Endocrinology , University Hospital Zurich.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leeners
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult