Sexual Function, Contraception, Relationship, and Lifestyle in Female Medical Students.
We undertook to study possible determinants of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in a large cohort of female medical students from German-speaking countries.



We conducted an online questionnaire-based anonymous survey in a cohort of >2600 female medical students enrolled at German-speaking universities. The questionnaire comprised the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) plus additional questions regarding contraception, sexual activity, age, height, weight, lifestyle, activity at work, sexuality and emotional interaction with a steady partner, pregnancy history and plans, health problems, and self-acceptance. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analyses, and standard nonparametric tests.



Of the 2612 respondents aged ≤30 years included in the analysis (mean age [standard deviation], 23.5 [2.5] years), 38.7% of the overall cohort and 33.5% of the sexually active subcohort (91.8% of all students) were at risk for FSD (FSFI score <26.55). Multivariate analysis revealed the following significant factors to be associated with the FSFI: alcohol consumption, level of fitness, use of contraception, steady relationship, and self-acceptance (overall cohort and sexually active subcohort); smoking (overall cohort only); and body mass index and activity at work (sexually active subcohort only).



Almost 40% of German-speaking female medical students are at risk for FSD. Contraception, smoking, alcohol, steady relationship, physical fitness, and self-acceptance are significantly associated with the FSFI total score. Being in a steady relationship, better physical fitness, higher activity at work, and subjectively positive self-acceptance, in particular, are associated with higher FSFI total scores, that is, with less risk for sexual dysfunction.
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Christian W
CW
Wallwiener
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , Munich, Germany .
Lisa-Maria
LM
Wallwiener
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Harald
H
Seeger
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Birgitt
B
Schönfisch
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Alfred O
AO
Mueck
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Basel , Basel, Switzerland .
Johannes
J
Bitzer
4 Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Stephan
S
Zipfel
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Sara Y
SY
Brucker
5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Heidelberg , Heidelberg, Germany .
Stephanie
S
Wallwiener
1 Department of Women's Health, Research Institute for Women's Health, University of Tübingen , Tübingen, Germany .
Florin-Andrei
FA
Taran
5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Heidelberg , Heidelberg, Germany .
Markus
M
Wallwiener
D000328:Adult; D001317:Austria; D003267:Contraception / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007989:Libido; D008019:Life Style; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D017584:Reproductive History; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult
contraception; female sexual dysfunction; female sexual function index; libido; online survey