Evaluating Affecting Factors on Sexual Function of Menopausal Women

Sexual problems are very prevalent in climacteric periods due to hormonal, social, and physiological changes, and sexual dysfunction of women can affect women’s self-confidence, marital relationship, and quality of life.

This study was done to investigate the relationship between urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness, prolapse, hot flush, and education with the sexual function of menopause women.

This cross-sectional study was done on 408 women who were referred to health care centers in Zanjan, Iran between 2018 and 2019. Sampling was performed using a systematic randomized sampling method. Data collection tools were a checklist consists of questions about socio-demographic and reproductive information and the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 through regression analysis and a P-value<0.05 was considered significant.

The mean age of women was 47.90±3.57 years. This study found the relationship between sexual function score and urinary incontinence (β=0.18, t=3.70, p<0.001), vaginal dryness (β=0.27, t=5.73, p<0.001), prolapse (β=-0.14, t=-2.97, p<0.001), and hot flush (β=0.16, t=3.35, p<0.001); however, there was no relationship between primary and university education with sexual function score (p<0. 343 and p<0.894, respectively).

Based on the finding of this study, some factors, such as urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness, and hot flush were associated with lower sexual function scores and prolapse was correlated with a higher score of sexual function. There was no significant correlation between sexual function and education level