Interstitial Cystitis and Female Sexual Dysfunction

Abstract

To use the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) to compare female sexual dysfunction in patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC) with that in controls. Consecutive patients with IC and asymptomatic controls were tested for voiding diary voided volumes, Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Questionnaire scores, and FSFI scores. Of the 97 subjects, 75 had IC and 22 were controls. The mean age was 38 and 43 years (P = 0.09), the voided volume was 165 mL and 294 mL (P <0.0001), and the Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Questionnaire score was 18 versus 3 (P <0.0001) for the IC and control groups, respectively. The total adjusted FSFI scores differed between patients with IC and the controls (20.2 +/- 9.6 versus 29.0 +/- 6.8, respectively, P <0.001). Using 26.55 as the cutpoint, 51 patients with IC (68%) had an abnormal FSFI score versus 3 controls (14%; P <0.001). Patients with IC scored worse on all domains of female sexual dysfunction than did the controls (P <0.01). The results of our study have shown that female patients with IC have sexual dysfunction, including pain, more commonly than do controls.