Abstract
The incidence of obesity, which is a chronic condition, has increased in recent years. The association between obesity and female sexual dysfunction remains unclear, particularly in postmenopausal women. In the present study, we evaluated whether obesity is a risk factor for sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women. This is a cross-sectional study that analyzed data from interviews of postmenopausal women at the Climacteric Outpatient Clinic from 2015 to 2018. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 221 women aged between 40 and 65 years old were selected and invited to participate in the study. Obesity was diagnosed according to body mass index (BMI). The participants were grouped into the following BMI categories: group 1, 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 (normal); group 2, 25.0-29.9 kg/m2 (overweight); and group 3, ≥30.0 kg/m2 (obese). Sexual function was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Cutoff points of ≥23 and ≥26.5 were adopted to define a diagnosis of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision by the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV-TR). The desire and arousal scores were statistically higher in the normal BMI group than in the obese group (p = 0.028 and p = 0.043, respectively). The satisfaction scores were statistically higher in the normal BMI group than in the overweight and obese groups (p < 0.05). The total FSFI score statistically differed among the BMI categories (p = 0.027). In the present study, obese and overweight postmenopausal women had higher total scores than women with normal BMI. Our results show that obese and overweight postmenopausal women had a higher index of dysfunction in desire and arousal and lower sexual satisfaction than normal-weight women.
Highlights
Obesity is a chronic condition with an increased incidence in recent years, both in developed and developing countries
We evaluated whether obesity is a risk factor for sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women
Our results show that obese and overweight postmenopausal women had a higher index of dysfunction in desire and arousal and lower sexual satisfaction than normal-weight women
Summary
Obesity is a chronic condition with an increased incidence in recent years, both in developed and developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates > 1 billion people to be overweight, with $ 300 million meeting the criteria for obesity. By 2025, 2.3 billion and 700 million adults are predicted to be overweight and obese, respectively.[1]. Data from the Family Budget Survey (POF, in the Portuguese acronym)[2] show a steady increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity in Brazilians aged > 20 years. The results showed that over the 35-year period, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in women increased from 28.7% to 48% and from 8% to 16.9% (an almost 2-fold increase), respectively. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy expenditure and caloric intake and has a multifactorial etiology. In the development of obesity, genetics is an important predisposing factor that can interact with environmental factors.[3]
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