Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine sexual functioning of Polish athletes with disabilities (including paralympians). The study encompassed 218 people with physical disabilities, aged between 18 and 45 (149 men and 69 women). The entire research population was divided into three groups: Polish paralympians (n = 45), athletes with disabilities (n = 126) and non-athletes with disabilities (n = 47). The quality of sexual life of Polish paralympians was measured by using the Polish version of Female Sexual Function Index and International Index of Erectile Function. Clinically significant erectile dysfunctions were most often diagnosed in non-athletes (83.33%) with 50% result of severe erectile dysfunctions, followed by athletes and paralympians with comparable results of 56.98% and 54.17% respectively (p = 0.00388). Statistically significant clinical sexual dysfunctions concerned lubrication, orgasm as well as pain domains, and prevailed among female non-athletes (68.42%, 68.42% and 57.89%). Practising sports at the highest level has a favourable effect on the sexuality of men and women with physical disabilities. Men with physical disabilities manifest more sexual disorders than women, an aspect which should be considered by health-care professionals working with people with disabilities.
Highlights
The National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville, UK, is considered the cradle of the Paralympic Games
The main purpose of this study was to determine the quality of sexual functioning of Polish athletes with disabilities
Non-athletes with disabilities were significantly older than paralympians and athletes
Summary
The National Spinal Injuries Centre in Stoke Mandeville, UK, is considered the cradle of the Paralympic Games. In 1948 16 athletes with disabilities competed in the first National Stoke. Mandeville Games for the Paralysed [1]. The first Summer Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960 under the name of the “First Games for the Disabled” and encompassed athletes with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. Since 1960, every four years, the best athletes with disabilities have met at the largest sports competition for the disabled—the Paralympic Games [1,2]. Polish participants first competed at the 1972 Summer Paralympic Games held in Heidelberg, Germany. The Polish paralympic team is composed of 94 competitors
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