Study on Sexual Behavior and Quality of Life of Women with Multiple Sclerosis Referred to Iran MS Society in Tehran in 2010

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of progressive neurological disability in young adults. MS has a deep impact on the social, economic, psychological, and sexual aspects of the patient’s life. Women with MS are 2-3 times more than men. Sexual problems are often experienced by people with MS and severely affect the quality of their life. The aim of this quantitative study is to examine female sexual performance and its association with life quality in MS patients. One hundred and thirty-two women with MS who referred to Iran MS Society of Tehran in 2010 participated in this descriptive study. They filled out “Multiple Sclerosis quality of life-54”, “demographic” and “medical History” questionnaires. Sexual performance was evaluated by sexual performance subscale of MSQOL_54. The study was conducted only in Iranian MS society. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software version 15 and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine relationships between variables. The mean ± SD age of patients was 36.9±8.3 year. Orgasm disorder was the most common complaint. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the orgasmic problems and physical (p<0.001) and mental (p<0.001) health composite of quality of life. Frequency of intercourse was significantly and reversely correlated with age, age at onset of MS and disability age (p=0.003), age of onset of MS (p=0.043), parity (p=0.048), number of childbirth (p=0.018), ability (p=0.005), age of husband (p=0.001) and marriage education (p=0.008). Increasing the focus on sexual problems when consulting patients may help them improve the quality of their life.