sexual activity

Considering the important role of sexual dysfunction and decreased sexual function of patients with diabetes, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of soft gelatin capsules of ginseng as an herbal medicine on sexual function in patients with diabetes.

In this double-blind controlled clinical trial with a control group, 80 patients with diabetes (type 1 and 2) were selected using the convenience sampling method, and randomly allocated to two groups of control and intervention groups (each 40 people). The effect of 100 to 200 mg of ginseng soft gelatin capsules (daily for 8 weeks) on the sexual function of men and women with diabetes in the intervention group and a similar placebo in the control group were studied. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) were used for gathering data before and at the end of 8 weeks of intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software.

At the beginning of the study, the mean score of the IIEF index in the control and intervention groups was 28.08±5.93 and 30.73±8.15, respectively without significant change (p=0.199). Eight weeks after the intervention, the IIEF index significantly improved in the group receiving ginseng 44.95±7.64 as compared to the control group 27.81±6.02 (p<0.001). At the baseline, the mean score of the FSFI index in the control and intervention groups were 47.36±5.93 and 46.06±5.47, respectively (p=0.525). At the end of the study, the FSFI index significantly improved in the group receiving ginseng 66.17±5.63 as compared to the control group 47.21±8.41 (p<0.001).

The consumption of ginseng for 8 weeks had a significant effect on the improvement of the sexual function of male and female diabetic patients.

Toxoplasmosis could lead to serious outcomes during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate serologic toxoplasmosis in three groups of women according to number of sexual partners.

The frequency of anti-Toxoplasma IgG from 471 women (101 virgin girls, 240 married women and 130 multi partner women) were determined by ELISA method from referred participant to medical centers of Tehran, Iran in 2020. The results were analyzed by chi-square and logistic regression tests.

Prevalence of toxoplasmosis was significant with the number of sexual partner according to chi square test (P<0.001) and the highest one was observed in multi partners’ women (56.2%) and the lowest one in virgin girls (17.8%). ORs of virgin girls and multi partners’ women were 0.594 and 3.758 respectively, compared to married women. The effect of age on the frequency of anti-Toxoplasma IgG in married women was significant but it was not significant in multi partners’ women. In addition to IgG frequency in married women and multi partners’ women had no significant relationship with the number of children.

Having sexual activity after marriage and having multi partner in sexual activity may possibly be a novel risk factor for toxoplasmosis infection or increasing the IgG frequency.

Low back pain (LBP) is a biopsychological problem which involve all aging groups worldwide which could limited social and sexual activities among suffered people. In this regard, this study aimed to obtain viewpoints of Iranian people involved with LBP.

Method and Materials:

 This descriptive study was done on Iranian adults who suffered from LBP. To do this study, demographic questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were completed by eligible participants.  The last three sections of this questionnaire which were related to sexual, traveling and social activities were completed by the participants who were satisfied to be studied and signed the written consent form. Completed data were entered into the SPSS version 26 and analyzed through descriptive statistics.

In total, 238 eligible adult including 159 female  aged 40.06±13.22 years and 79 male aged 35.56±16.12 years   were  assessed. In this study, of 238 responded participants   147 (61.7%) participants explained some LBP , of 179 responded participants 89 (49.7% ) participants described sexual activity limitation and, of 228 responded participants ,146 ( 64%) participants verified that they had social activity limitation due to disability consequently  to LBP.

This study showed the majority of Iranian participants with disability due to LBP have limited social and sexually activities. Therefore, doing further studies to confirm these results and designing proper interventions are strongly recommended.

This is a case-control study aimed at investigating the predictors of sexual function, depression levels, and quality of life in cervical cancer patients.

The study enrolled women aged 18 years and older who were at least six months post cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment in a single institution and underwent surgery or radiotherapy. The control group was selected from women referred for routine gynecologic screening. The study excluded women who had a history of sexual trauma and mental disorders, any general health problems, and therapy potentially affecting sexual life, such as hormonal therapies other than contraception. Demographic and clinical data of all participants were gathered, and all participants were asked to respond to two questionnaires: the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form health survey (SF-12) in a face-to-face interview. The study analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and comparison of demographics, clinical data, tumor and surgical characteristics. Linear regression tests were used to predict numerical outcomes, and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The study concluded that there were no baseline characteristics identified to have statistically significant differences among study groups, and all three groups had similar distributions of socioeconomic and demographic variables.

This study showed that cervical cancer and route of treatment may affect the patients’ quality of life and sexual health. Health care systems and health care providers may screen these patients and take early actions to prevent more morbidities.

Perfectaionism is a common personality trait that can affect various aspects of life, especially sexual relationships. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize the existing evidence for the relationship between perfectionism and sexual function in studies conducted in Iran and the world.

A comprehensive search of databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct, ProQuest, PsychINFO, IranPsych, Irandoc, SID, and Google Scholar search engine was performed until December 2021 without a time limit. To find studies, we searched for the keywords perfectionism and sexual function in both Persian and English and combined these words with the AND operator. Studies that scored above 15 according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) criteria were included. Data analysis was performed qualitatively.

From the total of 878 articles found in databases, six articles met the inclusion criteria and had moderate quality. Reviewing studies corroborated that, notwithstanding the positive association between general/sexual perfectionism and sexual desire, specific dimensions such as socially prescribed perfectionism, partner-prescribed, and socially prescribed sexual perfectionism, have the utmost unfavorable effect on female sexual function, which means that a higher level of perfectionism ultimately decreases the rate of sexual function in women. In addition, studies suggested that by increasing sexual anxiety and distress levels, perfectionism deteriorates sexual function.

Perfectionism may cause a variety of problems regarding sexual function. However, to clarify the precise role of each dimension of perfectionism on different areas of sexual function, more research must be conducted in this area in various communities and on age groups other than females of reproductive ages.

Up to now, limited studies have been done to evaluate the effect of sexual activity during menstruation on the endometriosis. However, due to the menstrual-related symptoms of endometriosis, this study aimed to systematically review the published articles on the association between sexual activity through menstruation and endometriosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This study examined all published observational studies on the association between sexual activity during menstruation and endometriosis, on the basis of the PICOS from conception until September 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used to evaluate the quality of the articles. Also, Meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager (RevMan 5.3). Out of the 1,905 retrieved articles of related databases, four studies comprised a total of 3641 patients (2251 cases and 1390 controls), which fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and equally encompassed high (2/4) and low (2/4) methodological quality, were reviewed. The results of all pooled studies showed that the probability of having sexual activity during menstruation is approximately two times higher in the women with endometriosis compared to women without endometriosis [odds ratio (OR)=1.80, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12 to 2.90, P=0.02, I2=78%, Tau=0.17, Chi2=13.72, P=0.003]. In this review, the sexual activity during menstruation was found to be an influencing factor for endometriosis. Due to the importance and complexity of endometriosis and the dearth of evidence on this topic, further studies with more robust designs are recommended.

The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected various dimensions of life and lifestyles, and sexual life is no exception. The present study aimed to determine the effect of multimedia sexual index promotion packages on the sexual function, desire, and satisfaction of couples during the outbreak of Covid-19.
Materials &

This randomized clinical trial study was performed on 60 married people in Qazvin City, Iran, in 2022. Participants were randomly assigned into control (n=30) and intervention (n=30) groups. Demographic questionnaire, Larson Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire, Hurlbert Index of Sexual Desire, International Index of Erectile Function, and Female Sexual Function Index were used to collect data. The Chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon test were used for data analysis.

In the intervention group, the mean of sexual function, desire, and satisfaction significantly increased in the post-test compared to the pre-test (p<0.05). This difference was observed only in sexual desire in the control group (p<0.05).

Multimedia sexual indexes promotion packages improve sexual function, desire, and satisfaction of couples during the outbreak of Covid-19.

Majority of breastfeeding women experience changes in sexual function. The present study was designed to assess effectiveness of auriculotherapy on improving sexual function in breastfeeding women.

In this randomized sham controlled trial, accomplished from January 2018 to May 2019 in a referral sexual health clinic in city of Qom, Iran, 60 eligible participants were assigned to either intervention and control groups via block randomization. In the intervention group, electrical stimulation was applied for 15 seconds on Shen Men, Zero, Thalamic, Master Cerebral, Libido, Relax, Excitement, Ovary, and Uterus points in 10 auriculotherapy sessions. Then, Vaccaria seeds were stuck on these points. The control group received the same procedure with the device off as a sham method. Data were gathered using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) at three different time points.

At baseline, mean scores of sexual function dimensions were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups except for orgasm. Post-intervention, the results showed significant differences in sexual desire (P = 0.002), sexual arousal (P = 0.008), lubrication (P = 0.001), sexual satisfaction (P = 0.001), and orgasm (P = 0.009). One month after the intervention, the results showed significant differences in sexual desire, sexual arousal, lubrication, sexual satisfaction (P = 0.001), orgasm (P = 0.006), and dyspareunia (P = 0.015). Differences in mean score of sexual function in post-intervention and one-month follow-up were only significant in the intervention group (P = 0.001).

Based on evidence from this study, auriculotherapy is an effective technique for improving sexual function in breastfeeding women.

Sexual function is one of the most important aspects of menopausal women, and its disorder is a common condition among this group of women. The long-term side effects of hormone replacement therapy to improve this disorder have led women to seek alternative therapies. The purpose of this review is to summarize clinical trials of herbal medicines that improve the sexual function of menopausal women. In this review article, the content was searched in 6 databases to identify double- and triple-blind clinical trial studies from January 2000 to April 2020. The search was conducted in English and Persian. Studies were considered if they were related to menopausal woman, sexual function and its various domains. A total of 479 articles were reviewed, 31 of which were included in the study after reviewing the full text. In this study, 3 articles on ginseng, 4 articles on fennel, 2 articles on Fenugreek, 3 articles on bindii, 3 articles on Red clover, 1 article on Schisandra, 2 articles on Hops; 3 articles about Black cohosh, 2 articles about soy, 2 articles about Ginkgo biloba, 1 article about Nigella sativa, 1 article about neroli oil, 1 article about maca, 1 article about Date pollen, 1 article about Aphrodite and 1 article on the combination of St John’s wort and vitex were evaluated. Red ginseng, fennel, bindii, Red clover and Black cohosh have the greatest effect on improving the sexual function of menopausal women, and people can be encouraged to use these plants.

The world's population is aging and the issue of sexual activity in elderly people is still a taboo in many cultures. The purpose of this study was to examine the sexual activity, interest and satisfaction in older women attended the Health Care Centers in the city of Ardabil-Northern Iran.

This Cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 married women over 60 years old who had been selected by convenient sampling method. Data were gathered anonymously by three questionnaires (Goldberg general health, FSFI and demographic information Questionnaires) and analyzed using SPSS software.

This study indicated that the mean age of participants was 71±6.8 years, 60% of the studied women had sexual activity and about half of them had interest in sex. Sexually active women were significantly younger (p<0.05) and more educated (p<0.001) than sexually inactive women. The participants’ sexual activity, interest in sex, emotional intimacy and sexual satisfaction with their husbands were significantly affected by the presence of children at home regardless of whether they are single or married (p<0.05)..

This study approved that despite misconceptions, older age and sexuality do not contradict each other and high education and having a private environment facilitate the intimate relationships and elevate their sexual satisfaction. The result of this study could help health care providers to provide appropriate and effective sexual healthcare services to older women.

Female sexual satisfaction is one of the main issues that can affect women’s physical and mental health as well as their family life. Although physiological and pathological changes are the main reason for the reduction of libido and sexual satisfaction in postmenopausal women, sociocultural and demographic factors are involved in this regard as well.

The main goal of this study was to examine some demographic and sociocultural factors affecting sexual satisfaction among postmenopausal women in Shiraz, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 married postmenopausal women aged 45 - 59 years in Shiraz in 2018. Data collection tool was a questionnaire, which consisted of four sections: demographic questionnaire, menopause attitude questionnaire, lifestyle questionnaire, and sexual satisfaction questionnaire. The results were analyzed in SPSS V. 20 using Pearson and Spearman tests and multiple linear regressions.

The findings showed that sexual motivation of about 70% of respondents had declined after menopause. In addition, 45% and 32% of respondents, respectively, had a sexual relationship once or twice and less than once a month. The results of multiple regression revealed that the main predictors of sexual satisfaction are lifestyle (B = 0.378, t = 2.09, P < 0.05), number of monthly intercourse (B = 0.199, t = 4.81, P < 0.01), and positive attitude towards menopause (B = 0.242, t = 5.99, P < 0.01).

Demographic and sociocultural factors significantly influence sexual activity and sexual satisfaction of postmenopausal women. Accordingly, researchers and health planners should pay more attention to these factors alongside physiological and psychological dimensions.