Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine female sexual functioning and its association with the impact of the symptoms of menopause among Spanish postmenopausal women. A total of 182 postmenopausal women (65.59 ± 7.93 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. The female sexual function index (FSFI) and the menopause rating scale (MRS) were used to analyze sexual function and severity of menopausal symptoms, respectively. Age, education, area of residence, occupation, and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were considered as possible confounders. The results of a linear multivariate regression analysis showed that the severity of urogenital menopause-related symptoms was associated with lower values in the FSFI total score and the lubrication, satisfaction, arousal, and orgasm domains. These last three subscales were also linked to severe psychological impact, while the MRS total score was only related to the desire domain. Regarding confounders, being younger, working, and residing in a rural area were all linked to better sexual function. All effect sizes were large (adjusted R2 > 0.35). In conclusion, after controlling for possible confounders, postmenopausal women who experience a severe impact of menopausal symptoms endure poorer sexual function, particularly when said symptoms are urogenital or psychological in nature.
Highlights
Menopause represents a women’s transition from a reproductive to a non-reproductive status, and it is diagnosed after 12 months of amenorrhoea resulting from the permanent cessation of ovarian function [1]
The individual associations with female sexual function (Table 2) revealed that an increased impact of psychological and urogenital symptoms was associated with worse sexual function, while the menopause rating scale (MRS) total score was only related to desire
After adjusting for potential confounding variables, a severe impact of menopausal symptoms is associated with decreased female sexual function
Summary
Menopause represents a women’s transition from a reproductive to a non-reproductive status, and it is diagnosed after 12 months of amenorrhoea resulting from the permanent cessation of ovarian function [1]. Women live about one third of their life in the postmenopausal period [2]. By 2030, a total of 1.2 billion women will find themselves in either the menopausal or postmenopausal status [3]. Postmenopausal symptoms commonly include hot flashes, night sweats (80% of women experience vasomotor symptoms during menopause), fatigue, pain, irritability, vaginal dryness, and mood changes [4,5]. Certain postmenopausal symptoms may persist for a long time [6]. Menopause symptoms have been associated with poorer quality of life [7], worse self-rated health, lower productivity at work, and increased use of public health care resources [8,9]
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