Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Diabetes
Article Date: 27 Jul 2012 - 9:00 PDT
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Sexual Dissatisfaction Is Common Among Female Diabetes Patients
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A study by UCSF researchers and published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology reveals that the level of sexual desire and sexual activity is similar in diabetic women and non-diabetic women, even though women suffering from diabetes are more likely to report low overall sexual satisfying action.
In the U.S., diabetes is a common, chronic condition that affects 12.6 million people - 10.8% are women aged 20 years or older, according to estimates by the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes can affect a woman's sexual function in various ways, including vascular changes in the urogenital tissues that affect lubrication, and changes in genital arousal response. The researchers state that diabetes medication and other interventions linked to monitoring or treating the disease may also adversely affect sexual function.
The study revealed that diabetic women on insulin therapy were more likely to experience difficulties in lubrication and had problems reaching orgasm. Senior author, Alison J. Huang, MD, MAS, an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Medicine at UCSF Women's Health Clinical Research Center said: "Diabetes is a recognized risk factor for erectile dysfunction in men, but there have been almost no data to indicate whether it also affects sexual function in women."
Huang and her team decided to assess the impact of diabetes on the sexual function in an ethnically diverse group of middle-aged and older women. They surveyed 2,270 women between the ages of 40 to 80 years who they split into three separate groups, i.e. diabetics treated with insulin, diabetics who did not take insulin, and a group of healthy controls that did not suffer from diabetes. The women's data was obtained from the Reproductive Risks of Incontinence Study at Kaiser 2, and from the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Diabetes Registry.
The women were asked to report on various topics, including their sexual desire, frequency of sexual activity, overall sexual satisfaction, and specific sexual problems, such as difficulty with lubrication, arousal, orgasm, or pain during intercourse.
The team evaluated the responses and also examined the link between diabetic end-organ complications, such as heart disease, stroke, renal dysfunction, and peripheral neuropathy and sexual function.
From a total of 2,270 participants, 486 or 21.4% were diabetics, including 139 or 6.1% who took insulin. The findings revealed that 63.7% of all women reported some sexual activity in the past three months. In comparison with healthy, non-diabetic women, the low overall sexual satisfaction in diabetic insulin-treated women was reported to be more than 50% higher, and over 40% higher in those who were diabetic and did not take insulin. The team observed no considerable differences in sexual desire or sexual frequency in both diabetic groups, after adjusting for other differences in participants' demographic background and medical histories.
After adjusting for the same demographic and clinical factors, the team found that insulin-treated, diabetic, sexually active women were more than twice as likely to report problems with lubrication, and 80% had more difficulty in reaching orgasm than non-diabetic women.
The team found that end-organ complications, including heart disease, stroke, renal dysfunction, and peripheral neuropathy in all diabetic women was linked to a lower sexual function in at least one domain. The researchers did not differentiate between Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, but assume that most suffered from Type 2 diabetes, because of the women's age at diagnosis and initiation of insulin therapy.
Earlier research indicated that psychological factors like depression might impact diabetic women's sexual dysfunction. Even though the team did not evaluate the influence of depression on female sexual function in their study, they did adjust for antidepressant use amongst participants, given that this can worsen sexual function, but they found that links between diabetes and sexual function were independent of anti-depression therapy.
Copeland concluded:
"Based on this research, clinicians may want to consider assessing diabetic women for sexual problems, particularly among those taking insulin, and counsel them that prevention of end-organ complications may be important in preserving sexual function."
Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Copeland, Kelli L. BA; Brown, Jeanette S. MD; Creasman, Jennifer M. MSPH; Van Den Eeden, Stephen K. PhD; Subak, Leslee L. MD; Thom, David H. MD, PhD; Ferrara, Assiamira MD, PhD; Huang, Alison J. MD, MAS
Obstetrics & Gynecology, July 2012, doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31825ec5fa
MLA
Petra Rattue. "Sexual Dissatisfaction Is Common Among Female Diabetes Patients." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 27 Jul. 2012. Web.
28 Jul. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248384.php>
APA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248384.php.
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'Sexual Dissatisfaction Is Common Among Female Diabetes Patients'
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