Sexual dysfunction is more than twice as frequent in Danish female predialysis patients compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls

Abstract

This study aimed to compare sexual dysfunction in Danish female predialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4-5 with age-matched healthy women in Denmark. Twenty-seven adult female predialysis patients (CKD stage 4-5 ~ creatinine clearance ≤ 30 ml/min) without diagnosed depression and 54 randomly assigned healthy female controls completed the questionnaires Female Sexual Function Index, Female Sexual Distress Scale, and the Major Depression Inventory. Predialysis patients reported lower Female Sexual Function Index scores compared to the controls (14.2 ± 2.1 vs. 20.1 ± 1.7, respectively, p = 0.048), more frequent sexual distress (44 vs. 22 %, respectively, p = 0.044), and more frequent sexual dysfunction (41 vs. 17 %, respectively, p = 0.041). There was no difference between the patients' and the controls' depression scores (12.2 ± 2.2 vs. 8.6 ± 1.1, respectively, p = 0.180). Sexual dysfunction was found to be more than two times as frequent in Danish female predialysis patients with CKD stage 4-5 compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls, and this result emphasizes the need for attention towards sexual function in the treatment for CKD.