title: Maternal overweight and sexual function in pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity and overweight are increasing worldwide and may compromise female sexual function. Our aim was to compare the sexual function of normal and overweight women in pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study involving 223 pregnant women: 105 overweight [pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg/m(2) ] and 118 normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) ), in the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. These women were managed at an antenatal clinic of a public university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, between 2011 and 2014. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used. The characteristics of normal and overweight women were compared using two-tailed Student's t- or chi-squared tests. Differences in mean FSFI scores were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between pre-pregnancy BMI and FSFI scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 2nd trimester, mean total FSFI scores were similar in overweight (n = 51) compared to normal weight (n = 67) women (21.9 ± 9.8 vs. 21.7 ± 10.4, p = 1.000). In the 3rd trimester, overweight women (n = 54) had significantly lower total FSFI scores than normal weight women (n = 51; 19.1 ± 10.3 vs. 24.5 ± 9.7, p = 0.0004). In the 3rd trimester, overweight women also had significantly lower mean scores in desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm and dyspareunia domains. We found an inverse correlation between pre-pregnancy BMI and mean 3rd trimester total FSFI scores (r = -0.212, p = 0.030), desire (r = -0.216, p = 0.027) and orgasm (r = -0.222, p = 0.023).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overweight women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy had poorer sexual function compared with normal weight women.
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Meireluci C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3326-2720
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mary U
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4972-7863
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4944-0720
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Torloni
authors.affiliation: São Paulo State University Medical School (FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco de T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3485-3805
authors.initials: Mde T
authors.lastname: Scanavino
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5109-5607
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruna M B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1240-514X
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.affiliation: São Paulo Federal University (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosiane
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1405-5371
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mattar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056865:Ideal Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D009948:Orgasm; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second / Q000502:physiology; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000502:physiology; D019529:Sexuality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Pregnancy; obesity; overweight; sexual dysfunction; sexuality