Abstract
BackgroundInfertility represents a major challenge to the emotional balance and sexual life of couples, with long-lasting and gender-specific effects. The objective of this study is to explore personality features of infertile patients and detect possible sexual disorders in couples undergoing infertility treatment.Materials and methodsIn this prospective study 60 infertile couples and 52 fertile control couples were asked to complete standardized and validated questionnaires: the Adjective Check List (ACL) to enquire about personality features and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) or the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) to assess sexual functioning of female and male partners. The study population was divided into 3 groups: Group A (N = 30, recently diagnosed infertile couples) Group B (N = 30, infertile couples already undergoing Intrauterine Insemination) and Group C (N = 52, fertile control group).ResultsInfertile patients did not display any distinguishing personality features. Regarding sexual function, men of all the three groups scored higher in both questionnaires (sexual satisfaction, desire and orgasm) than their female partners. Comparing results between groups, Group A male partners obtained lower scores in all the subscales. Women belonging to Group A and Group B showed an impairment of sexual arousal, satisfaction, lubrification and orgasm when compared to fertile controls.ConclusionsEven if at the very first stages of infertility treatment no personality disturbances can be detected, the couples’ sexual life is already impaired with different sexual disorders according to gender.
Highlights
Infertility represents a major challenge to the emotional balance and sexual life of couples, with long-lasting and gender-specific effects
Women belonging to Group A and Group B showed an impairment of sexual arousal, satisfaction, lubrification and orgasm when compared to fertile controls
There was no significant difference between the three groups. This implied that the infertile patients did not show any distinguishing personality features
Summary
Infertility represents a major challenge to the emotional balance and sexual life of couples, with long-lasting and gender-specific effects. The link between infertility and sexuality is complex and bidirectional: infertility can be considered either as a cause or a consequence of a sexual dysfunction. Organic sexual dysfunctions are regarded as a minor cause of infertility, with a conservatively estimated rate of about 5% of all infertility cases [2]. Medical vocabulary can be hurtful and it can contribute to the impairment of male sexual identity [7,8]. Hormone medication itself as well as certain side effects of hormonal therapy (mood swings and weight gain) can alter their sexual behavior and their experience of sexuality [4]
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